Video Screengrab
The KwaZulu-Natal education department has identified Siyathuthuka Secondary School in Inanda, north of Durban, as the school where a 17-year-old schoolgirl was violently assaulted by a fellow learner in a video that has gone viral on social media.
The 20-second clip, which has been condemned by the national department of basic education, shows the pupil in uniform being brutally kicked in the back and head several times by the schoolboy while another male learner does nothing to help the girl, but seems to be encouraging the attack.
According to The Times, the incident took place in November last year and the girl’s father, a single parent, has since taken his daughter out of the school in fear for her safety when the shocking video was shared among pupils, teachers and went viral in the community.
The schoolgirl’s father – whose name the paper withheld to avoid further trauma – said he complained to the school’s management, but he was told they were apparently not aware of the incident. He said the boy’s family was not helpful either.
“I then went to the local satellite police station, but the police said they would not charge the boy because it wouldn’t help as a court would release him on bail,” the father was quoted as saying.
He said he thought about taking the law into his own hands after he felt victimised, helpless and humiliated when he saw the video a few weeks later, but decided his daughter should change schools instead.
The schoolgirl’s sister also said she reported the incident to the school, but no action was taken against the perpetrator.
She claimed the brutal attack occurred after she and a group of learners, including the perpetrator, teased each other.
“He lost it and slapped me on the face. Later my sister went to him to inquire what had happened.
“That’s where the argument started, and he beat her and kicked her to the ground in between the computer laboratory and other classrooms while another boy took the video as he cheered him on,” she said.
The perpetrator has left the school, and is now in KwaMashu, north Durban, according to the family.
WARNING: The video may not be for sensitive viewers.
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