VANDERBIJLPARK – A family of a 16-year-old pupil from Vaalpark Secondary School demands justice after a video of their daughter being assaulted by a group of fellow pupils outside the school premises surfaced.
The video shows the pupil being slapped and punched repeatedly in what seems to be a taxi rank, with dozen fellow schoolmates pulling her hair and school uniform.
Scores of fellow schoolmates could be heard screaming during the alleged assault altercation and some filming the incident.
According to the family, the incident happened on March 16, and they were never informed about the incident by the school.
Only when they visited the school, the Acting Principal told them she meant to call all parties involved.
Speaking to Sedibeng Ster, Vuyelwa Mankomo (45), mother to the assaulted pupil, described what had happened on the day.
“On March 16, a group of about six girls was caught on camera attacking my daughter. When I questioned my daughter about what had happened, she told me she was beaten because she told her friend about what the group “IT girls” were doing with boys.
When they took the video, they claimed they wanted her to trend for her actions, while she is being humiliated by being beaten,” she said.
Mankomo said the principal said he was going to call the SGB for disciplinary measures to be taken against the girls.
“The principal has since said she will call the SGB to deal with the matter, till this day, nothing has been done. We resorted to opening a criminal case because the principal is failing our daughter. They continue to victimize her. They are not showing any remorse, every little chance they get, they claim they will win the case opened against them,” she said.
Alfred Malindi (47), father to a fellow grade 10 pupil said “As parents we wanted to sit with the principal and talk this through because what these kids did is inhuman, but the principal couldn’t do that for us. If these kids are not reprimanded, they still going to do this to other kids and they will continue to harass my daughter. Getting a suspended sentence will give us justice and will set a precedence and such will never happen again in that school”.
A criminal case has since been opened for the six IT girls and they are set to appear in court on May 9.
Despite several emails being sent to Free State Department of Education spokesman Howard Ndaba on April 13, the spokesman has still not responded to Ster.
Sasolburg police spokeswoman Sergeant Josephine Rani said a case of assault has been opened.
