The two pupils were both students at Nhlambabaloyi Secondary School in Ntabazinduna, Matabeleland North.

Matabeleland North provincial police spokesperson Inspector Glory Banda confirmed the shocking incident.

He revealed that the two girls got into a heated altercation over a boyfriend that both of them were allegedly seeing. The altercation quickly escalated and degenerated into a physical fight.

An unnamed person broke up the fight after seeing the girls going at each other.

After the fight was stopped, the younger girl headed home. However, the 17-year-old who appears not to have been satisfied with how things ended, followed her love rival to her homestead.

The police report that after realizing that she was about to be attacked, the younger girl armed herself with a kitchen knife. Unfortunately for her, the older girl managed to disarm her. During the ensuing melee, the 15-year-old was stabbed with the knife on the breast and died shortly afterwards while seeking refuge at a neighbor’s.

“The 15-year old took a kitchen knife for self-defence but she was disarmed and she was killed using the kitchen knife,” said Inspector Banda.

The police spokesperson also called on members of the public not to resort to violence when solving disputes.

“We want to advise members of the public not to resort to violence as a way of resolving issues, they should engage third parties so that they reach a common ground and also the elderly people should guide the young people whenever they have a disagreement.”

The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education said that it had dispatched counsellors and psychologists to help the families of the two girls involved in the tragedy.

Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education Taungana Ndoro told the publication,

“Our psychological services teams at the Ministry have been offered psychological support to the two families that are affected.”