An 18-year-old Grade 12 learner died after being bitten by a black mamba, while he was camping at Mawewe Secondary School in Dumphries Village, Bushbuckridge Local Municipality, on Monday November 27.

According to the spokesperson for the Department of Education, Jasper Zwane, the incident occurred at the school during a Grade 12 camp organised to prepare the learners for the 2023 National Senior Certificate examinations.

Zwane did not give much detail about how the learner was bitten; however, the education MEC, Bonakele Majuba, said he would visit the bereaved family today, November 30, and find out more about the circumstances.

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Zwane said Majuba extended his heartfelt condolences to the learner’s family, the school and teachers during this difficult time.

Meanwhile, the snake catcher in the area, Cockroach Mdluli, confirmed that the snake was a black mamba, and that he had received a call that they had seen a snake at the school, but that he was not available at the time. However, he advised members of the public to always refrain from trying to catch a snake or killing it.

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“A black mamba is not aggressive unless it is in danger and trying to defend itself; that is when it strikes, and it’s very venomous. They must try by all means to stay away from it. All they can do is check where it goes so that when the snake catcher comes, they can show it to them. It is very unfortunate that I did not make it to the school on time to catch it; maybe I would have saved the learner,” he said.