Staff Reporter

A Bhamala Primary School, Zhombe teacher and two pupils were burnt on Monday after a lightning strike tore through their school.

The lightning strike also affected 20 other pupils from the school and neighbouring Fafi.

In an interview ward Councillor Emmanuel Sibanda said the children were taken to Zhombe Mission Hospital and three were refered to Kwekwe General Hospital after the incident.

“The teacher and two pupils were taken to Kwekwe General Hospital after being refered from Zhombe. The other children were affected by smoke and they were treated,” he said.

Councillor Sibanda said the lightning started by striking huts in about 1km radius before it hit the school.

“We are in shock. The lightning striked on houses first before hitting the school. We have since engaged traditional healers to appease the place of the incident.

This is sort of becoming a normal occurence in the rainy season and the traditional healers came and cleansed the place and some of the students yesterday,” he said.

He added that the church today conducted prayers to seek divine intervention.

“Today some churches were conducting prayers to rid the place of the lightning spirit. We believe that this is a human made occurrence, someone is using dark powers,” he said.

Chief Gwesela in whose jurisdiction Bhamala Primary falls in said he will hold a traditional cleansing ritual after Monday.

“I am yet to meet village heads in the area but we are meeting on Monday to map a way forward on how we can hold a traditional cleansing ceremony,” he said.