Johannesburg - A prominent child-advocacy organisation was used by the "cruel" governing body at Enoch Mpianzi’s school to reinstate the notorious Grade 8 camps. The learner died last week during a "water activity" at the camp.
The Women and Men Against Child Abuse (WMACA) has allegedly been roped into the cover-up of Enoch’s brutal drowning during last week’s Parktown Boys’ High School’s Grade 8 camp in North West.
The camp was suspended in 2018 after revelations the year before that Collan Rex, Parktown’s former water polo coach, had engaged in a slew of sexual and physical abuses of schoolboys.
Rex was convicted and sentenced to 23 years’ imprisonment in November 2018 on 144 counts of sexual assault, and 17 of assault for a reign of terror which lasted from 2016 to 2017.
Sources have alleged that “the WMACA was used as a cover by the cruel SGB” to reinstate the infamous camps, with the child-advocacy body sending Luke Lamprecht, one of its senior specialists, to the camp this year.
The Star was given access to a recording of Monday’s meeting at Parktown, where principal Malcolm Williams could be heard telling parents of Grade 8 learners that the school had taken precautions for this trip, including inviting Lamprecht to attend.
“I want to underline the school’s absolute support to the Gauteng Education Department and the SAPS’s investigations into the tragedy at Nyati Bush and Riverbreak Lodge.
“We will ensure that no stone remains unturned to get to the bottom of this tragedy because, obviously, we will ensure that such a tragedy never happens again,” Williams could be heard saying.
The Star reported on Thursday that Parktown’s alleged major cover-up of Enoch’s death, including that a teacher, Alex Meintjies, “negligently forgot” the roll-call list and indemnity forms which were left in the hired bus that had ferried the learners to Nyati.
The bus - from company Bus 2000 - returned to Joburg last Wednesday with those documents, which was what caused the delay in the searching for Enoch.
Gauteng Education Department spokesperson Steve Mabona said after being asked about these allegations, MEC Panyaza Lesufi would respond to questions on Frday, when he was expected to reveal the findings of a probe.
Lamprecht was unavailable to comment due to personal reasons. But WMACA founding director Miranda Jordan confirmed that Lamprecht was at the camp, but that her colleague was there to assist matric learners with regard to the dangers of violence following the Rex saga.
Jordan also confirmed that it was the SGB and Williams who reinstated the camp after its suspension.
“Luke Lamprecht has no jurisdiction at the school to bring back the camps,” she said.