In a video, filmed on October 24 outside the Lyceé Joseph Ambourouet Avaro in Port-Gentil, Gabon, a man can be seen smashing a pile of cellphones on the ground using a hammer. The man was later identified as the school’s guard.
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France 24 has spoken to two students who confirmed that it was common practice to have their phones seized, but this was the first time that the devices were actually destroyed.
Mr. Esseng then explained that the majority of phones in the video had been seized years ago, and only a few in that pile had been recently confiscated. The intended message was, he said, to show students that the rules should be followed.
Essang stressed that, as far as he knew, parents hadn’t complained to staff members about the somewhat radical approach. The students, however, were frustrated that they had not been verbally informed about the school rules, he said.