Johannesburg - An East Rand Grade 11 pupil is expected to appear in the Vosloorus Magistrate's Court on Thursday for allegedly shooting dead a fellow pupil he accused of bullying him, Gauteng police said.
“He will appear in court today on a charge of murder and a charge of possession of an unlicensed firearm,” Captain Pinky Tsinyane said.
The 18-year-old Phineas Xulu Secondary School pupil was arrested on Tuesday after he allegedly took the gun belonging to his mother, a metro police officer, to school.
He allegedly shot dead Grade 10 pupil, Nkululeko Ndlovu, when he and his friends confronted him in a class on Tuesday.
On Thursday, The Star newspaper reported that no one at the school was prepared to shed a tear for the bully, and that the general feeling was that he got what he deserved.
“We are relieved that he is dead. We will now eat our food and spend our money,” one pupil told the newspaper.
Ndlovu's family denied he was a problem pupil and said they were not aware he was a bully.
“Even if he was a bully, he was not supposed to be killed. Allegations that he was a bully are new to my ears,” Ndlovu's cousin, Smangele Ndlovu told The Star.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Alliance said on Thursday that teachers needed to be trained and adequately equipped to deal with bullying.
“It is imperative that Gauteng schools have a working relationship with the police and social workers from the local police station,” education spokesman Khume Ramulifho said.
“This will enable them to respond to and prevent violence as well as conduct random searches for weapons and other illegal substances.”
Inkatha Freedom Party Gauteng provincial legislature caucus leader Bonginkosi Dhlamini said the education department should help find the causes of and solutions to bullying. - Sapa