Cape Town – KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education has called for harsh punishment for three pupils who allegedly gang-raped a grade 11 schoolgirl at their school premises last week, on November 7.
The three pupils aged between 16 and 21 were from Sibongumusa High School in Swayimane near Pietermaritzburg.
They appeared at the New Hanover Magistrate Court on Monday for the alleged rape, reports said.
The suspects allegedly boasted about the incident on social media.
The grandfather of the victim said the incident had left the family “broken” and deeply hurt, reports TimesLIVE.
“She told us that while she was at school, she was grabbed by three other learners and raped. Her mother was called to the school and they took the child to the hospital and reported the matter to the police. I don’t know what got into these children because they are young — two of them are in grade 12 while one is in grade 8,” the report quoted the grandfather as saying.
He said his granddaughter was traumatised and her two siblings who attend the same school were having a difficult time at school due to comments made about the incident.
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“She can’t even go to the shop or step outside the house. She is always standing at the door and sometimes opens her books but you can see that she is dying inside. They took her childhood and crushed her.
“She is traumatised and it’s painful to see your child in such a manner. I can’t even sleep at night, I don’t want to even imagine how she is feeling. These boys didn’t respect my father’s home and it’s painful because they live close by,” the grandfather was quoted as saying.
KZN education department spokesperson, Muzi Mahlambi said the department was shocked that the pupils could do something so horrible at the school premises, reported The Citizen.
“We want the police to deal with them thoroughly and harshly so that the others will also learn a lesson. They need to know that you cannot do something this inhumane and get away with it.
As the department, we will also take disciplinary action against them and we will set an example. What they did is very painful and inexplicable,” Mahlambi was quoted as saying.
He said the most painful thing was the boys boasted about the incident on Facebook.
The report said the Department of Social Development will send social workers to the school and to the victim’s family for counseling.
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Compiled by Olwethu Mpeshe
