An individual suspected of sexually assaulting and killing a Grade 11 student at Chipa-Tabane Secondary School in Refilwe, Cullinan, Gauteng, turned himself in to the police.
The horrific event is said to have occurred on Sunday, March 24.
Alleged Rape and Murder of a Gauteng Student
The learner attended extra lessons on Friday, March 22, and Saturday, March 23, according to the Gauteng Department of Education.
The pupil allegedly left the residence on Sunday, March 24, 2024, at around 18:00, and did not come back, according to Gauteng Education spokesperson Steve Mabona. The police received a missing person’s complaint from her mother that evening.
Mabona stated that after learning that the learner was last seen with her cousin, her family visited the cousin’s home on Monday, March 25, in order to get further information on the learner’s whereabouts.
“They allegedly discovered the learner’s corpse in a room within the cousin’s home after that. Police were called, and they showed there to start looking into the matter.
“The learner was allegedly sexually assaulted before being strangled to death, according to information at our disposal,” Mabona clarified.
Furthermore, the suspect turned himself in to the police on Monday evening. He is scheduled to appear on Wednesday, March 27 at the Bronkhorstspruit Magistrate’s Court.
Devastation of Education MEC Due to the Latest Incident
The fact that the student had to go through such horrific conditions has left Gauteng Education MEC Matome Chiloane speechless.
Chiloane added, “We respectfully sympathize with her cherished family and offer our deepest condolences to them and the entire school community.”
Persistent violence against female personnel
There have been numerous reports of comparable instances in Gauteng schools.
On a rugby field at Hoerskool Garsfontein, the body of 16-year-old Mia Kühn, a learner in Grade 10, was discovered in July 2023.
On her way home from Ntsako Secondary School in Soshanguve in May 2023, 17-year-old Palesa Malatji was viciously raped and killed.
Malatji walked home from school in the afternoon after attending extra lessons. Unfortunately, she never came home, and her family tried in vain to find her at the school. A few days later, her body was discovered adjacent to Echibini Secondary School in Soshanguve, the scene of a sexual assault.
The Democratic Alliance (DA), meantime, has demanded that school safety be given top priority.
Khume Ramulifho, the spokesman for D Gauteng’s education department, reported that 94 violent criminal occurrences had occurred in Gauteng schools during the previous five years.
Gangsterism was the source of 26 events. In addition, 45 incidents involved violence amongst students, one involved teacher-to-teacher conflict, six involved student-teacher conflict, and four involved teacher-student conflict. Four teachers and eight students were also slain by outsiders, according to Ramulifho.
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