Cape Town - North West family seeking answers after of their 12-year-old son hanged himself after allegedly being assaulted by two teachers at a Christian school on March 11.
Bokang Pitso was found hanging by his 6-year-old sister after being allegedly assaulted by two teachers at Living Faith Christian School for being involved in an altercation with another learner.
Habby Pitso, the 12-year-old’s aunt, says that the altercation happened at around 10am on Friday. She says that a fight ensued after a learner pulled out Bokang’s fake nose ring, leaving him bleeding.
“This one child came and pulled the earring out of Bokang’s nose, and he started bleeding, causing an altercation between him and the boy. The friends of the boy who did this came to his defence. They crucified my nephew; they restrained him.
“One boy held one arm, and the other held another so that the friend could hit the nephew. After that, a teacher came and pulled Bokang and the boy hitting Bokang, and took them to the staff room,” she added.
Pitso said that Bokang’s 6-year-old sister was called to the staff room, where the teachers convened.
“There were other teachers present. One teacher restrained Bokang, whilst another teacher beat him up. Bonolo witnessed everything, but she could not say anything, as she is also a child,” she explained.
Pitso says that the family discovered Bokang hanging after the 6-year-old girl alerted the mother.
“My 6-year-old niece comes out and says that Bokang is bleeding from the nose and is scaring her, and that Bokang is playing games that she does not understand. After a few minutes, she comes back crying, saying that Bokang is really bleeding from the nose and has a rope around his neck,” she said.
Pitso says that the family has been devastated by what happened and accuses the school of not being forthcoming with information about the incident.
“After Bokang passed away, the principal came to our home telling us that they will view the footage on Saturday. On Sunday, they came with the SGB and interrogated us, shifting the blame, saying that we did not see that Bokang was being bullied and asking us questions as if it is our fault that our child is dead,” Piso said.
“The schools know all that happened. There is footage of what happened there, and the teacher who beat up my child is still at school. The child hanged himself on Friday, and we have yet to see the fight footage,” she said.
Kabelo Mataboge, the chairperson of the North West Provincial Legislature’s Portfolio Committee on Education, has condemned this incident.
“We are shocked that such a young life has been lost due to alleged bullying and corporal punishment by the same teachers who were supposed to protect the learner. We wish to send our deepest condolences to the family of the late learner. The committee will keep the family in prayers in these difficult times,” he added.
IOL reached out to the school for comment, but to no avail.
IOL