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'Hijacked kids' have a picnic
16/08/2005 22:37 - (SA)
Buks Viljoen, Beeld
Balfour - A readiness exercise by the local commando had parents up in arms on Tuesday after a schoolbus was "hijacked".
Melanie Swart, mother of one of the pupils on the bus, even had to be sedated afterwards.
Apparently only four people knew about the planned exercise. Soldiers stopped the bus and "hid" it in the bush a few kilometres from the main road.
Swart's son, six-year-old Jannes, was one of about 20 pupils on the bus travelling along the Devon route towards school when the Heidelberg commando "hijacked" it a few kilometres from town.
When the bus failed to arrive by 09:00, the school phoned some of the parents to ask where the children were.
Bus driver Hannelie Viljoen, also a teacher at Balfour Combined School, could not be reached by cellphone, and neither could the pupils, as the soldiers had told them not to answer.
Concerned parents called each other in a bid to try and find out what had happened and launched a massive hunt for the missing bus.
Rushed back home
Swart said: "At first, we thought the bus might have broken down.".
She was called by a friend who wanted to know if she had seen the bus on its route.
A worried Swart called her husband, Josef, who was on his way to Pretoria for a medical emergency. He rushed back about 40km to help search for the missing bus.
The bus was found later at Mostert House, a famous landmark on the outskirts of town, and the pupils were sitting on the lawn having a picnic.
Commando members, under platoon commander Lieutenant Dirkie Gouws, treated the pupils to cooldrinks, cake and crisps after the "hijacking".
The pupils were completely unaware of the chaos their disappearance had created.
"They actually enjoyed it," said one of the parents, who asked to remain anonymous.
"They were particularly pleased with not having to go to school!"
Police had been told about plan
But Swart said: "The incident was sick. We can laugh about it now, but the commando should at least have informed the principal about their plans."
Commando chief Colonel Marius Venter said the operation was aimed at testing the readiness of the school and the parents.
He said the police had been told before the exercise.
Nevertheless, he had ordered an investigation into the matter.
Vice-principal Adam Breedt said he had no problem with the surprise exercise.
"It just showed us how unprepared we were. Actually, it's about the safety of the children."
- Beeld
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