Today, 10 years ago, a boy walked into his school with a samurai sword …
"It's just one of those unbelievably sad stories. Two broken families, a broken school and a broken community."
“I remember the shock, the sadness and the questions,” said Roelien Vorster, who was the editor of the Krugersdorp News in 2008, when the then 18-year-old Morné Harmse killed one and injured three of his fellow learners at his school.
That fateful day happened 10 years ago on 17 August.
Harmse arrived at school like it was a normal day, but he had only one idea in mind – an idea that would devastate not only a school, but an entire community and ultimately the country.
Carrying a makeshift mask of his favourite heavy metal band, Slipknot, and a samurai sword, he entered the school premises. While wielding the sword, he first cut off a gardener’s ear. He moved on to injure two other learners. Finally, he slit the throat of 16-year-old Jacques Pretorius.
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He then stuck the sword into the ground and sat on his knees in front of it. He was taken to the principal’s office where the police arrested him.
“The call came in and we could barely believe that anything like this could ever happen in a small, humble town like Krugersdorp,” Vorster said.
“Rumours spread like wildfire. There were reports of the boy being decapitated, but when Harmse eventually pleaded guilty and his story was heard, it was found he had merely cut a vein and the victim bled out.”
Harmse was found guilty of murder and sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment.
“Many blamed the music he was listening to, a reason I don’t agree with because thousands of children listen to Slipknot’s music and no one else did anything of this nature. Others blamed his secretiveness and his denial of access to his room. But it doesn’t matter what they blamed, it happened.”
A police officer close to the case told the News that Harmse was set to be released sooner because of his good behaviour in prison, however, many refused to grant him parole as they thought he “wasn’t ready”.
“It’s just one of those unbelievably sad stories. Two broken families, a broken school and a broken community. It changed the way people looked at the world of a teenager in school. From a parent’s point of view, be part of your children’s lives. Technology has a big influence these days. Our children have to deal with seeing sadistic murders, with emphasis on the torture aspect, romanticising of murder and even acceptance of heroes killing people for no reason. Mix that with minimal punishment for heinous crimes (like what happened with Oscar Pistorius) and you’re creating little monsters for the world to consume.”
Harmse’s father was contacted for comment, but declined to speak to the News.
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