Mpianzi drowning: Criminal charges, civil lawsuits in the offing

Individuals and institutions implicated in circumstances leading to the death of 13-year-old Parktown Boys’ High School pupil Enock Mpianzi, could soon face a range of criminal charges – from culpable homicide to civil lawsuits.

In what has been described as “a damning report” following the probe by law firm Harris Nupen Molebatsi (HNM) into the death of Mpianzi, who drowned during a school camp in January, South African Human Rights Commission commissioner Andre Gaum today said the incident demonstrated “recklessness in the extreme”.

Mpianzi – among 50 pupils who participated in a school excursion – died tragically during the camp held at the Nyati Bush and Riverbreak lodge in Brits in the North West.

The report, submitted this week to the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE), has implicated headmaster Malcolm Williams, Nyati Bush and Riverbreak manager Anton Knoetze, and several teachers at Parktown Boys’ High School – and was scathing on the display of negligence by those in charge for failing to ensure the safety of pupils during the camp.

Reliving what they went through, one of the pupils interviewed by the HNM investigative team said: “I walked further, the current got faster and the boys in my group seemed to be panicking to get back to land. There were two facilitators and some boys helping others get back to the land.

“The water was flowing pretty quickly and so it was hard for them to get to the bank. When bailing on the raft, the facilitators and boys on the bank were holding out bamboo sticks for us in the river to grab and get out of the water.”

In its key findings, the NHM report said:

• Williams should be the subject of disciplinary proceedings in accordance with the Employment of Educators Act for breaching safety regulations and Parktown Boys’ High School’s safety policy.

• The principal was negligent in maintaining accuracy of roll call lists of attendees, ensuring safety and care of pupils during the water exercise, where Mpianzi had no life jacket during the camp which was not sanctioned by the GDE.

• Knoetze provided false information on the number of facilitators, with pupils having entered the Crocodile River without expert supervision during the water exercise – showing a lack of adequate safety precautions.

• The GDE proceed with disciplinary action against teachers Stacey Reynolds, Kyle Reddy, Laurian Kruger, Celiwe Mbuyisa and Tshepo Ratala for not enforcing safety and taking care of pupils during the water exercise.

• The school was negligent “if not reckless, in allowing the water exercise to go ahead when the educators knew from the agenda that the activity would end with a river swim”.

Reacting to the findings, Gaum said: “Clearly, this is a damning report on how learners have been failed when it comes to lack of supervision and no provision of life jackets – recklessness in the extreme. The SAHRC has found the investigative report to be thorough and we are studying it with the view to assisting the Mpianzi family and mediating between it and the GDE.

“Lawyers for the family will soon be serving summons and pressing criminal charges against all individuals and institutions involved. There is a strong case to be argued when one looks at human rights violations and culpable homicide, which could trigger lawsuits.”

With the Mpianzi death among several to take place in the past at the Nyati Bush and Riverbreak lodge, Gaum said the SAHRC would “also have to look at the circumstances of all past incidents and history”.

He said, “It cannot be allowed that things should go on like this in the same venue. We are going to get evidence on what happened to other learners who died in the same venue and put pressure on the GDE to implement recommendations with speed.”

Recommendations:

HNM has recommended that the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) take immediate action to regulate the facilities that offer services to schools for camps and other tours.

Their report said facilities like Nyati should be known to the GDE and another regulatory body ought to have jurisdiction over it, “to enforce a minimum standard of safety measures at such facilities”.

Also highlighted in the report were past incidents of drownings involving pupils at Nyati.

These included the deaths of Portia Sowela of Northview High School who drowned in 1999, Thuso Moalusi of Malvern High School in 2002, Tumi Mokomane of Laerskool Welgedag who drowned in the swimming pool in 2009 and Mellony Sias of Adamantia High School who drowned in the river.

According to the report, should more evidence of past drownings come to light, “HNM will supplement its findings and recommendations accordingly”.

It added: “It is simply not acceptable for a camp to accept busloads of children not knowing who they are and involving learners in potentially hazardous exercises, including a water exercise involving rafting down a river with strong currents.

“Thereafter the learners were taken out to sleep in the veld for the entire night without having a list of every single person in each group.”

brians@citizen.co.za

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.