Cape Town – With more and more former and current Brackenfell High School pupils opening up about racism experienced at the school, police have confirmed that a case of intimidation has been opened.
Colonel Andre Traut said on Friday an intimidation case was registered at Rondebosch police station by a 22-year-old male on Wednesday and is being investigated.
News24 reported that Siya Ntuntwana, who matriculated from Brackenfell High in 2016, had received death threats after speaking out against racism at the school.
In a video interview with EWN, two days after violence had erupted outside Brackenfell High when EFF members were attacked, Ntuntwana, wearing his Old Boys’ uniform near the gates of the school, said: ’’Students that do drugs, they would get punished, they would have to go on rehab programmes. And then only once they are done with the rehab programmes are they allowed to return to school.
''But with racism you get two-hour detention or you get 16 hours detention and after that you are allowed to come back into school.
''But I want to say racism isn’t something you are born with, it’s something that is taught and the school does nothing to address these issues.
''My five years at the school I’ve never ever heard the school speak about racism, but I have heard them speak numerous times about ’Don’t do drugs, don’t do all these stuff’. And I’m not surprised that this is all coming out.’’
According to former and current pupils, the private party that sparked the protests was just the tip of the school’s racist culture.
Ntuntwana, who played first-team rugby and cricket and was on the representative council of pupils, told News24: "My sister was in the school 10 years ago and she experienced racism, the student that called her a K-word got two days of suspension.
“After that he came back to school taunting her. I matriculated in 2016 and in 2020 we are experiencing racism.
"Even though I was heavily involved in the school, it didn't exclude me from experiencing racism," said Ntuntwana, who had already documented his experiences at the school on social media in June when the Black Lives Matter movement took off.
"There would be times during class discussions that teachers would say things like 'South Africa was in a better position in apartheid than it is now'.
In Grade 11, Ntuntwana, who was until then referred to by his second name ’’Keith’’, asked the school to refer to him by his first name, Siyabulela.
’’I was threatened to rewrite an essay and on a separate occasion my maths teacher told me she would refuse to mark my test because I wrote my name as Siyabulela Keith Ntuntwana and not Keith Ntuntwana.’’
He had to prove to the school's administration that his real name was Siyabulela by producing his ID.
An Instagram page carrying more than 100 posts dedicated to sharing the experiences of former pupils has also provided a shocking glimpse into the racism experienced by many current and former pupils at the school, with a formal memorandum given to the principal, school governing body (SBG) chairperson and staff on July 8.
The SGB maintained in a letter to parents: “Brackenfell High School is an inclusive, integrated school which promotes non-racialism and reconciliation.”
However, in a statement released by the SGB on Friday, it said: “The SGB and staff of Brackenfell High School fully commit ourselves to participate in future discussions with learners as well as parents in order to ensure a constructive way forward.
“In respect of the way forward we aim to expand and adapt in order to make the school a better place. The school has already started addressing concerns and putting various measures in place to facilitate diversity.”
The school is in the process of engaging speakers and external professional consultants to conduct sensitivity and diversity training with the staff and learners next year.
Processes are also being put in place to create safe spaces and communication opportunities where learners can feel free to voice their concerns and report issues.
“The school unequivocally condemn and distance ourselves from the incidence of violence that transpired around our school as well as any form of hate speech expressed on social media as a result of these events.
“These unfortunate actions do not represent the values that we embrace and teach at Brackenfell High School; values like unity, respect, responsibility, citizenship, integrity and neighbourly love…
“We sincerely appeal to our parents, community members as well as people from outside our community, to refrain from involvement in any form of aggression or violence at or around the school premises…
“We implore you to exercise calmness and discipline as any escalation in violence will only put our learners, your children, in danger and cause them unnecessary anxiety and distract from their examinations.
’’Please allow the school the opportunity to address concerns and to plot a course towards reconciliation and healing.”
IOL