Durban - A teacher stands accused of impregnating five pupils from different schools in northern KwaZulu-Natal.
After he made each girl pregnant, he promised their families he would pay lobola and marry them, but never returned.
Instead, the girls were left with children to raise alone, and although the girls knew his whereabouts, they feared exposing him because he had threatened to kill them.
This is according to reports the girls made against the 38-year-old teacher from a Manguzi high school, who had multiple sexual relationships with the pupils for years.
A source in the community told the Daily News that the girls’ parents were convinced that the promise of marriage was true, but as time went by, it became evident that the promises were his way of escaping payment for “damages”, as most of the girls had been virgins.
“The girls later learnt that the teacher, who was originally from the Mtubatuba area and rented accommodation in the Manguzi area, had also made marriage promises to other families.
“They discovered that they were being played and decided to report the matter to the school,” said the source.
The matter was then reported to the school governing body (SGB), the local councillor and recently the parents opened cases against him with the police.
The Education Department yesterday confirmed that the teacher was still employed at the school, because he had a pending appeal before the MEC’s Appeals Committee on another sexual offence.
In that matter he had been suspended and charged for having a sexual relationship with a pupil at the school.
Department spokesperson Muzi Mahlambi said the teacher had been suspended pending the outcome of investigations in connection with the latest allegation.
“We are working on the matter speedily to conclude it through following the right procedures. What makes it hard for us to prosecute at times is that complainants make allegations and later withdraw from participating in the hearings.
“In this case, the police are involved and witnesses and families are coming forward,” he said.
One of the girls said she was in Grade 9 when the teacher seduced her.
The teacher continued sleeping with her until she was in Grade 11, at which point he realised she was pregnant. He threatened to kill her if she revealed he was the father of her baby.
It is also alleged that he forced one girl to abort her baby and buried it in a shallow grave.
Umhlabuyalingana mayor Nkululeko Mthethwa said the teacher fled the area after hearing the girls had reported him.
Mthethwa urged pupils who had fallen victim to the teacher to come forward.
“The pupils and parents who were brave enough to come forward did the right thing. The victims should not feel intimidated. We are not going to fold our hands while our children are being molested and their rights violated. Such teachers should be removed from our schools. We are now relying on the police to build a strong case against the teacher to ensure he gets the appropriate punishment for destroying the lives of these young girls,” he said.
Mthethwa urged the department to be decisive in dealing with the matter, so as to send a strong message to other teachers.