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It has been 12 days of no justice since 10-year-old Nhlupheko* was raped in the toilet cubicles at her school in Mpumalanga.
The girl’s distraught mother told City Press on Friday that everyone who was supposed to help – from the school’s principal and the Mpumalanga department of education to the police – had been dragging their feet.
Nhlupheko was allegedly raped on May 11 during lessons at Maqamela Primary School in Clau-Clau near Mbombela, after she allegedly told a teacher that she wanted to relieve herself, but someone was near the girls’ toilets. The teacher did not pay attention and Nhlupheko went straight into danger.
According to her mother, the rapist wore a mask and the little girl could only describe the clothes he was wearing.
“I’m very scared for my daughter. Since no one’s doing anything, what if the culprit kills her?” she asked.
The woman’s push to get justice for her child and ensure her safety has thus far attracted only nonchalant attitudes and insensitivity. She alleges that:
. The Kabokweni police told her that the officer who had been assigned the case was on leave and would only return to work in three weeks’ time;
. The school principal allegedly refused to speak to her or other parents. “Each time we tried to meet him, a female teacher pulled him away from the meeting.” This had happened at least three times;
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. The Mpumalanga department of education promised to deploy officials to assist her and the child, but nothing had been done;
. One of the teachers, annoyed by the presence of the parents at the school on Friday, allegedly said: “You’re busy toyi-toyiing here. If you’re not satisfied, send your children to schools in town!”; and
. The principal and teachers left the school on Friday when parents arrived to request a meeting and, instead, asked a councillor to talk to them.
The mother said that she had no choice but to send her daughter back to the same school after the ordeal because, while she had been at home for a few days and undergoing medical examinations, none of the teachers from the school had given her any work to do so that she would not fall behind with her lessons.
“She cries when she has to go to school. I just need somebody to do something, instead of being told that something will be done and then it isn’t.
“I’ve seen no action from the school to ensure there’s more security since this incident,” she added. “They’ve been doing nothing to help identify the culprit. The school has a fence and some security people at the gate who sanitise the children’s hands. Who knows, the culprit could be right there at the school and somebody must have noticed what he wore that day.”
Mpumalanga education spokesperson Jasper Zwane denied that the school had done nothing.
“There was no delay at all. As soon as the principal was alerted, the circuit manager was informed, police were informed and officials were deployed,” he said.
The mother, however, said Nhlupheko had told her about the incident on the evening of May 11 when she got home from work.
She had immediately taken the child to a hospital to be examined and then to the police station to report the case. She said she had also telephoned one of the teachers about the incident, but nobody at the school had said or done anything until she had gone to see the principal herself.
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Zwane could not give details about when officials were deployed to the school or to see the child, or explain what assistance they had given her.
The mother said she received a call from Mpumalanga police spokesperson Brigadier Leonard Hlathi, who asked her about the incident. The Kabokweni police had also spoken to her to update her on the case.
Hlathi said that even though the lodging of the rape charge coincided with the investigating officer’s leave, a senior police officer was handling the case.
“I personally phoned the police station and asked them to update the mother. I’ve also personally been calling her to update her and assure her that we’re investigating the matter,” he said.
*Not her real name
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