A schoolgirl has been left traumatised after she was allegedly gang-raped by her fellow pupils and they allegedly bragged about it on social media afterwards. Three suspects, aged between 21 and 16, have since been arrested.

The incident took place at a school in Swayimane near Wartburg, last week.

It is alleged that the girl (18) was gang-raped by three pupils. Two of them are in grade 12 and one is in grade eight. The incident is believed to have taken place during extra lessons, while the pupils were preparing for their examinations.

KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education spokesperson Muzi Mahlambi confirmed the incident. He says it is shocking that there are pupils who can do something so horrible on school premises.

“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.

Alleged rapists brag on Facebook

Mahlambi says the most painful thing is that the boys allegedly bragged about what they had done on Facebook.

“As a parent, what do you say or do when you come across that [post]?

School governing body chairperson Siyabonga Jila told The Witness what happened is unbearable.

“We want the law to take its course. We have instructed the principal to make sure that they also do an internal investigation at the school so that the truth can be revealed and those responsible for this act be punished.

Ward councillor Sbongiseni Jali says the matter only came to her attention on Tuesday.

“This is devastating. It is even more scary that it happened on school premises. We will meet with different stakeholders and discuss a way forward on how we can assist.”

Department of Social Development spokesperson Mhlaba Memela says they never expected that something like this would happen at a school.

“We hope that the police will deal with them. As a department we will send social workers to do counselling at the school and to also counsel the victim and her family.”

He says they are aware that it is going to take a long time for the victim to recover.

“It is important that we work with the family to ensure that the child is alright and has hope again. It is something that we never expected that can happen at a school where there are teachers.”

Learned behaviour

Sinikiwe Biyela, director at LifeLine and Rape Crisis in Pietermaritzburg says this kind of behaviour is something the boys learned somewhere.

She says in most gang-rape cases, the people who do it are under the influence of drugs.

“No one in his normal senses will want to sleep with someone who just slept with another person without using protection. In our experience, gang-rape is always planned.

“It is not something that happens out of the blue. What makes it worse is that they know it is wrong but they continue to do it.”

Charges of rape are being investigated

KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Nqobile Gwala says charges of rape are being investigated by Wartburg SAPS.

She says three suspects aged between 16 and 21 were arrested and appeared before the New Hanover Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.