Johannesburg - A matriculant at an East Rand school is living in fear after he was allegedly assaulted by fellow school mates, one of whom calls himself “AWB wit boer”, in what is believed to be a racist attack.
The boy’s father, Leonard Mahlangu, said his son Ntokozo, attending Dr Johan Jurgen High School in Springs, had been physically, verbally and racially attacked by white pupils who also sent him threatening messages.
The bullying started last Friday when Ntokozo was accused of insulting a female pupil. The girl’s sister and three friends, who also attend the school, then approached him during school hours and started swearing and spitting at him.
“They also pushed him around and kept calling him a k*****,” said Mahlangu, who first contacted Eyewitness News with the story of what happened to his son.
The abuse then took a violent turn when two other boys at the school started hitting Ntokozo in the face and tore his school jersey.
“The principal then called me to fetch my son because he was involved in a fight,” said Mahlangu. “When I fetched him, I saw his face was swollen and he had a blue eye.”
The teenager and his father went to Tsakane police station to open a case of common assault against the group.
A pupil who matriculated from the school last year and is the boyfriend of the girl Ntokozo was said to have insulted, allegedly sent him a spree of racist messages to warn him to stay away from his girlfriend. In the messages, he allegedly referred to Ntokozo as a “k*****”, a “p****” and a “faggot”.
The older boy also signs off on one of his messages with “Regards AWB wit boer”.
Mahlangu said the boy had physically attacked Ntokozo before.
“He beat my son up last year and he didn’t tell me, but he informed a teacher at the school about it and nothing was done,” he said.
Instead, the teacher told Ntokozo to open an assault case with the police but the school did not take any disciplinary action.
Mahlangu said that although his son had not sustained serious injuries in the attack, he feared that he could have been killed. He urged the school to take action against the group of pupils responsible.
“If they fail to take action, I will take the matter up with the police and the Department of Education,” he said.
The school said this morning that the alleged bullying attack was being investigated and that the principal would meet with officials from the Department of Education to discuss the matter.
Ntokozo has since returned to school, although he fears that the group might attack him again.
Meanwhile, in another racial incident in the East Rand, a couple was allegedly attacked by a mob at a shopping mall. The attack happened when a woman refused to move forward in a queue when asked to do so by the couple, the Boksburg Advertiser reported.
A group of people at the mall then started to racially insult the couple and attack them.
Incidents this year:
*January:
Allegations surfaced that children at Curro Foundation School in Roodeplaat were assigned to classes based on race.
However, Curro Holdings’ Andre Pollard denied any racial segregation, saying the races were kept apart to ensure that children made friends with others who shared their culture.
*February:
The Department of Education in Mpumalanga suspended a principal and two teachers from Hoërskool Reynopark in Witbank after a Grade 9 pupil was allegedly called a “baboon” and a k***** by a teacher during class. When the mother called the teacher, he swore at her, said she was stupid and also called her a baboon.
*February:
A group of coloured parents protested outside Roodepoort Primary School saying they wanted a coloured principal and not the black principal, Nomathemba Molefe, saying her appointment had been flawed. Some parents said coloured teachers at the school had been overlooked.
Minkie Steytler of the South African Institute of Race Relations said when children acted in a racist manner, it was something they had learnt from their parents, which boiled down to bad parenting.
“Children learn from example. If parents act in a racist manner, they will think that is fine,” she said.
The Star