The Department of Primary and Secondary Education is currently investigating allegations of corruption and assault against Khumalo Primary School principal, Stella Mhlanga in Bulawayo.
Mhlanga, who was suspended from 14 August 2024 to 4 November 2024, pending a disciplinary hearing, has since been reinstated under controversial circumstances.
Following the suspension of the principal, the Department of Education appointed the deputy principal, Enelise Sibanda, as acting principal until the Mhlanga case is resolved.
But the director returned to her position on September 4, 2024, although the charges were not resolved, raising concerns about the transparency of the disciplinary process.
The Ministry of Education had initially scheduled a hearing on August 29, 2024, but it was abruptly canceled after Lameke Mudiwa, the chair of the disciplinary committee and director of human resources at the same ministry, who was reportedly on his way to Bulawayo from Gweru, was detained. He was allegedly instructed by senior ministry officials in Harare to cancel the hearing, according to sources.
In a notice signed by Mudyiwa, the hearing process was outlined: “Please note and inform that you may submit any documents, books, records or other things in your possession or under your control which may be relevant to the hearing.” The allegations against Ms Mhlanga Stella.
Witnesses, including teachers and parents, expressed frustration that the hearing was halted.
Edison Manzungu, a parent and member of the School Development Committee (SDC), revealed that 19 complainants had gathered for the aborted session.
“We feel that someone in senior positions is protecting the headmistress while abusing children and parents who have been abused by Mhlanga’s military leadership style. As we speak, Mhlanga has been reinstated while his disciplinary hearing is still pending. Witnesses are victims.”
Although she was reinstated, Primary and Secondary Education Minister Torirai Moyo stated that Mhlanga had not been exonerated.
“What you are referring to are individual disciplinary issues. We do not discuss contractual issues with the media. The director responsible for this (disciplinary) process is the one who is dealing with the case,” the Education Minister said in an interview.
Mhlanga is accused of multiple offences, including abusing parents and assaulting teachers in front of students.
One such incident involved a parent, Sithole Ncube, who wrote to the Department of Education on 24 November 2023 detailing the confrontation with Mhlanga.
Ncube narrated how the principal publicly reprimanded her regarding her complaints about the cost of the school trip.
“On November 9, 2023, I went to school to say goodbye to my daughter on a school trip with other children. When I got there and stood with other parents as we waited for the bus to leave, I then greeted her (the school principal) and once she accepted the greeting, she continued, “ Kanti Wena Omntanako Oyahamba Angithi Kuthwa Wow- “(How is your child also going on this trip when you seem to be complaining that it is so expensive?)” the mother said in her letter of complaint.
Ncube said
She responded to the manager and asked her to stop addressing her publicly.
“I always asked her to call me into her office and express her concerns, which she never did,” she said in her letter.
“Mhlanga then ordered me to go to her office, but she continued to patronize me, and so on that day, a fight broke out. I was fed up with her bullying.”
Some teachers also raised allegations of assault and abuse by Mhlanga in front of school children.
An elderly teacher at the school, who requested to remain anonymous, claimed he was assaulted by Mhlanga three years ago.
“No disciplinary action was taken, and several student witnesses have since left the school. Some teachers have also resigned out of frustration and fear of becoming a victim,” the teacher said.
However, some of these violations were reported to the Social Development Agency as well as the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) offices in Bulawayo.
In addition to these allegations, Mhlanga is accused of corruption and mismanagement of school funds.
In 2022, she allegedly failed to account for a US$1,000 donation from UNICEF under the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) programme.
Funds allocated for the school’s water, sanitation and hygiene plant were reportedly poorly managed, delaying the project and increasing costs.
“The project, which was supposed to be completed within a few months, took a year and a half to finish at three times the original cost. The Syrian Democratic Council had to raise additional funds to complete it,” said a member of the Syrian Democratic Council.
The school was also accused of mishandling the $5 nutrition tax collected from each student.
“The feeding program only lasts for a few weeks at the end of each semester and in some cases, foods such as meal meal, beans and chopped soybeans are thrown away after they have gone bad,” Manzungu claimed.
This is not the first controversy Mhlanga has raised. In 2022, her nude photo accidentally went viral after she posted it on her WhatsApp status. Site
