Africa-Press – South-Africa. “Why are they keeping dangerous weapons at the school?”
This was the question a grieving Ekurhuleni father asked Gauteng MEC for Education Panyaza Lesufi following an incident in which his son was allegedly assaulted and died at a local school.
Nhlanhla Tshabalala, 16, died after allegedly being assaulted by a teacher and a general assistant at Tsakane Secondary School on 8 March.
An emotional Jacob Tshabalala addressed Lesufi in front of the media about his loss.
“What happened to us is painful. My son died [allegedly] at the hands of adults who were expected to look after him. What is more hurtful to us as the family is that we don’t get satisfactory answers since the incident.
“We have a problem with Tsakane Secondary School principal (Pearl Ngcobo) who is protecting her staff members. I agree that when he (Nhlanhla) died, he was at the school he didn’t attend,” Tshabalala said at his home in Tsakane.
Nhlanhla was a Grade 10 pupil at Reshegofaditswe Secondary School in Tsakane.
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According to Tshabalala, his son went to Tsakane Secondary School to fetch his school bag and cellphone from his girlfriend.
Allegations are that Nhlanhla was carrying a toy gun.
“His mother told me that she was informed that our son was carrying a toy gun. Where did they get so much strength to beat my son like that? How does the school security guard carry a golf stick and a machete?
“This means there are more weapons inside that guardroom,” Tshabalala claimed.
Tshabalala said they needed answers and help from Lesufi.
“We don’t walk with our children. He was in his puberty stage, which we all went through. He didn’t deserve to be killed.”
Tshabalala added that Ngcobo told him that Nhlanhla had arrived at the school drunk.
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“Maybe he bought alcohol using his pocket money. I can’t dispute whether my child drank alcohol or not. I asked Ngcobo to give me evidence of the alcohol they said he had consumed and she could not do it.
“I only got his books, not evidence of the alcohol they said he drank. I plead with Ngcobo not to defend her colleagues. I want justice. As a parent, I always reprimand my children. Lesufi, can you please start probing this matter from the bottom,” pleaded Tshabalala.
Lesufi replied that he had received contradictory reports on what happened to Nhlanhla.
He promised to appoint an independent law firm to probe the incident.
“Only the postmortem results would satisfy the family,” Lesufi said.
“If there are people responsible for this, they must be brought to book. It would be unfair that people who have (allegedly) done something like this are still at school or work. However, we need some form of evidence (to prove it).
“That is why the appointment of an independent firm [has been made] to give us a preliminary report. I support the family. They have somebody they lost. They mustn’t feel alone.”
Lesufi is expected to address residents regarding the disruption of learning in Tsakane since Nhlanhla’s death.
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