There is panic amid the sorrow that has descended upon Letlhakane Senior School (LSS) following the sudden death of the school’s headmaster this week.
Matthews Molefe Rakhudu’s lifeless body was discovered at his cattlepost near Dimajwe in what is believed to be suicide.
According to Serule Station Commander, Reboeleng Serumola, the 61-year-old’s lifeless body was recovered on Monday morning, a day after the suspected suicide.
The top cop would not go into further details, stressing that investigations are still at an infancy.
However, while investigations into the matter continue, there is growing unease within the school as a disturbing narrative builds on social media.
Rakhudu’s death means that in the last nine years three serving LSS headteachers have passed away.
In addition to the sad statistic, in that time a fourth headteacher lost a son to suicide. The son is said to have hanged himself in the headmaster’s quarters just three months after his father took on the head’s position.
According to sources at the school, it was the second suicide to occur within the house, as the previous year the headteacher was found hanging from the rafters.
Now with Rakhudu’s passing, residents of Letlhakane and some concerned teachers are convinced the house is haunted.
“Four people living in that house have died. Two souls hanged themselves in there while another occupant also appears to have killed himself. I don’t see anyone moving into the house any time soon,” declared a worried senior teacher.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the long-serving LSS educator said while the mysterious deaths have always been a topic of discussion, the school seemed be moving past that.
Rakhudu’s unexpected demise has brought the past crashing back into focus. It has also revived talk of the supernatural.
“Now we are all back to being uneasy. It could be paranoia, but our Setswana customs when it comes to dealing with death has not made it easy for us,” concluded the teacher, looking over her shoulder nervously.
Meanwhile, Chief Education Officer (CEO) for Boteti Sub Region, Milidzani Nduna admitted they are aware of the narrative being debated on social media but told The Voice the timing is not right for her office to respond.
“This is a sensitive issue, and there’s a need to clearly state facts only which I don’t have at the moment. What I, however, know is that one of the persons mentioned passed away as far back as 2011,” she said.
“It would be unfair to teachers in this region to spread allegations we can’t prove. If we allow the narrative on Facebook to continue, who do you think would want to come and work here?” asked Nduna, adding that she’d look at all the claims made on Facebook after Rakhudu’s funeral.
Meanwhile, Prophet Christopher Monnye of Johan Masowe Church (Balatedi Ba Ga Johane) told The Voice that where death is involved there has to be spiritual intervention.
“You can see that even for people who never attended church in their entire lives, Pastors and Prophets lead proceedings to their last resting place,” he said.
Prophet Monnye believes the LSS house has to be cleansed of the spirit of death.
“If two people hanged themselves in that house, the Holy Spirit has to be engaged. The devil is ruling that place and spiritual intervention is needed before any soul occupies the house again,” he warned gravely.
