Pretoria - Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi stood at the edge of the empty school sportground and quietly observed the location for a few minutes before turning to the officials around him.
“Is this the place?” he asked, of the large uncovered field which was the scene of recent alleged rape of three schoolgirls aged between 7 and 9 by older boys at Kutumela Molefi Primary School, Lethabong informal settlement, east of Pretoria.
Principal Papp Moemetsi confirmed that it was the place where three girls had apparently been tied up and raped by two older schoolboys almost four weeks ago.
Lesufi, visibly shaken and angry, turned and headed back into the school where he told the media that he was disappointed by the way in which the matter had been handled by the management of the school.
This was the first case of rape in any school since he had taken over as MEC last year, he said. “I am deeply disappointed and hurt that this happened in our school and that action to deal with it and report it took so much time,” he said.
Lesufi visited the school to investigate the incident which occurred on a Thursday afternoon four weeks ago. The matter went unreported for three weeks while parents waited for progress from the principal.
Moemetsi had assured them of an investigation both by himself and the police, and told them social workers would intervene.
The father of one of the children discovered that no case had been opened when he tried to follow up on the investigation early last week.
The child protection unit responded immediately and took the two available children for a medical check-up where rape was confirmed. They opened a case and launched their investigation.
“The time lapse was too long and that is unacceptable, because we might have missed some important evidence,” Lesufi said.
After he met the principal, school management, members of the school governing body and parents, Lesufi sat down and had a session with the two girls, aged 8 and 9. The other girl is on holiday.
“They need immediate help,” said the MEC.
He added that psycho-social counselling for them and their parents would start immediately.
“The children must be given the necessary counselling and support now. I do not want to prolong their pain any longer,” he said.
He announced a forensic investigation to look into the chronology of events.
“It will be an independent body of investigators who will interview all parties and give me a report within 21 days,” he said.
He also instructed the department’s district office to give him feedback by Friday, on the feasibility of having the alleged perpetrators and their victims in the same school come the start of the new term in two weeks’ time.
“But after talking to the victims they indicated that they did not want to be in the same environment as the boys,” Lesufi added. He said he had picked up that they were scared and he wouldn’t allow them or any others to be in the same situation while he was in charge.
Lesufi had also instructed the department’s head to review the role played by each and every person in the alleged rape saga: “… from the SGB to the principal, to establish if there was proper reporting,” he said.
“As a parent I am hurt, distressed and worried, you don’t allow this to happen, especially to children in primary school. There should have been immediate reaction,” he added.
He offered his apologies to the parents on behalf of the department, and said he was encouraged by the presence of one of the boys’ parents at the meeting.
“They indicated that they would also need support.”
No pupil in the schooling system should contribute to the statistics, and to avoid that, early warning signs (of behavioural problems) had to be put in place and monitored and acted upon, he said.
He undertook to deal with such cases decisively and said he would not tolerate any wrongdoing, especially when it involved children as young as the ones involved.
Lesufi said he would extend the services of counsellors to the community if a need was identified.
“I am really saddened. I do not want this to happen under my leadership and if it does I will act decisively,” he said.
Pretoria News