Africa-Press – South-Africa. Allegations of rape and a shooting at a primary school disco in Gauteng have been denied by the provincial education department.
Weltevreden Park Primary School held a disco fundraiser for grades 5 to 7 where it was alleged that high school boys entered the premises and tried kissing the girls, and threatened them with weapons.
Social media was flooded with claims about what was said to have had happened at the event, which included allegations of rape and a shooting.
However, provincial education department spokesperson Steve Mabona denied these claims.
“According to information at our disposal, the event was stopped in the evening after an alleged rape incident was reported. However, this was false. Reports confirmed that a boy learner allegedly touched a girl learner inappropriately while dancing with her,” Mabona said.
“The girl learner insisted that this incident did not occur, but her parents were advised to open a case. However, they did not do so as they concurred that the allegations were false.”
Police confirmed to News24 that no such incident had been reported.
“Despite the false allegations that were made, parents were issued a letter to monitor their children closely and inform the school should they have any concerns. We also dismiss allegations of a shooting incident. Our reports confirm that no guns were fired. The only weapons that were on the school premises were the ones carried by the security company and SAPS on site,” said Mabona.
On Saturday evening the school responded to the social media furore, saying it was “very concerned about the impact this has on the people involved, our learners, and the entire school community”.
The school also said due to the “ongoing investigation”, it would not be making any comments at this stage.
“However, we would like to let parents know that as soon as we became aware of the alleged incidents, immediate action was taken to secure our learners by moving them into the hall and activating the early responders’ protocols,” the school said.
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