Johannesburg - A teacher from a Soweto school has been arrested for allegedly assaulting journalists and stealing their equipment.
The teacher and some of his colleagues - including the principal and deputy principal - at Daliwonga Secondary School in Orlando, Soweto, were caught on camera beating pupils who arrived late.
Justice Dlamini, a Soweto TV cameraman, and reporter Ziniko Mhlaba sustained minor injuries during the altercation. They were producing a news insert about pupils being assaulted for coming late.
Dlamini said they arrived at the school on Wednesday morning and began recording the teachers beating pupils. The deputy principal spotted them and demanded to know why the journalists were filming.
“We explained that we were doing a news insert, and when we refused to hand over our footage, she began threatening us,” said Dlamini.
The argument escalated into a violent confrontation when the deputy principal, the principal and other teachers began assaulting the pair.
Dlamini alleged that the staffers also stole their cellphones and iPads and confiscated their equipment.
The journalists opened a case of assault, robbery and malicious damage against the group at Orlando East police station.
Police spokeswoman Constable Thuli Ngwenya confirmed that one of the teachers had been arrested.
The teacher was due to appear in the Orlando Magistrate’s Court on Friday.
The Star