By 
In a sweeping multi-agency security operation, Gauteng law enforcement descended on schools across Daveyton and Etwatwa on Wednesday, uncovering a disturbing cache of prohibited items including a live ammunition round, dagga, and multiple vaping devices hidden among learners.
Gauteng MEC for Education, Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation, Lebogang Maile, joined the intensive, unannounced sweep on 9 September 2026, signalling a resolute escalation in the province’s ongoing battle against substance abuse, gangsterism, and dangerous weaponry within public learning institutions.
The coordinated security sweep targeted four major campuses: Phandimfundo Secondary School and Lekamoso Secondary School in Etwatwa, alongside Rivoni Secondary School and Hulwazi Secondary School in Daveyton. Hundreds of law enforcement personnel, including officers from the South African Police Service (SAPS), the Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD), Gauteng Traffic Wardens, and Gauteng Community Patrollers, executed thorough, classroom-by-classroom searches.
Alarms Raised Over Concealed Contraband
The sweeps laid bare the ingenuity and audacity with which illicit substances and dangerous objects are smuggled past school gates. At Phandimfundo and Lekamoso secondary schools alone, officials recovered 31 distinct prohibited items, including seven vaping devices, eight small bags of dagga, four loose cigarettes, four pairs of scissors, four boxes of matches, and two containers of suspected drugs.
However, the most alarming discovery unfolded at Rivoni Secondary School, where enforcement officials uncovered a live bullet cleverly concealed inside an arm strap worn by a learner, alongside vapes and an Okapi knife.
MEC Maile emphasized that these operations are part of a regular, province-wide strategy designed to tackle a massive systemic challenge:
“It’s a routine for us on Wednesdays to join these searches unannounced throughout the province but these searches happen regularly. There are other school searches which happen elsewhere simultaneously because the problem is big and we want to ensure that we go to as many schools as possible.”
A Call for Collective Responsibility
While law enforcement interventions are crucial for immediate threat mitigation, provincial leadership remains adamant that policing alone cannot secure the academic environment. Addressing community stakeholders, Maile underscored the core tenets of the department’s It Takes a Village to Raise a Child programme.
The framework champions shared accountability, emphasizing that keeping children safe and disciplined cannot rest exclusively on the shoulders of educators. Parents, communities, and security agencies must maintain a unified front to protect learners and ensure schools remain conducive to teaching and learning.
