Mass hysteria hits Okongo school

MASS hysteria swept through the Oshisho Combined School near Okongo in the Ohangwena region last week.

The Oshisho Combined School is a rural boarding school at the Eendobe village, about 15km north-west of Okongo town.

Some pupils, mostly girls, exhibited strange behaviour such as speaking in what sounded like a strange language when the episodes started on Friday last week.

Although teachers and parents were baffled by the girls’ behaviour, psychiatrist Mnubi Farahani told that the pupils suffered from mass hysteria, which is a mental condition that affects people who share the same social problems or challenges.

“It is not witchcraft. It could be that they just have the same social problems,” he said, adding that school authorities could invite a counsellor or a psychologist to talk to the pupils and teachers.

When visited the school, teachers and parents were locked in an emergency meeting over the mass hysteria episodes.

One of the girls who experienced an “attack” said it started with a severe headache one morning, and that she collapsed afterwards, following which everything went blank.

The mass hysteria episodes, which affected nine girls, led to some people believing that it was witchcraft, and this caused some pupils to stay away from school last week.

A parent, Padelia Paulus, who has three children at the school, said it was not the first time that such “attacks” had occurred at Oshisho.

Paulus said two pupils had the “attacks” during the first term, although not severely.

understands that some parents suggested that churches be invited for prayer sessions at the school, but education authorities allegedly stopped them.

Oshisho principal Tubutame Obert refused to comment, while Isak Hamatwi, the Ohangwena education director, said he was aware of the situation at the school.

“Yes, it was reported to me by the principal of the school that a few children are behaving strangely,” he said, adding that he was not aware of any plans to have prayer gatherings at the school.

He also denied stopping parents from having prayer sessions at the school, although he acknowledged that church activities were not allowed on schoolgrounds.

“That one is very clear from the education ministry’s policies. It is only a few pupils affected, and we have ordered them to stay at home in the meantime. Why prayers at the school? They must go to the houses of the affected children and pray for them there,” he stated.