Eight suspects, aged 17 and 18, are set to appear in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court today on charges of assault with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm, following the attack on a 16-year-old learner at Milnerton High School.

This was confirmed to Caxton Network News by Western Cape police media liaison officer Sergeant Wesley Twigg.

Tension escalated at the school yesterday when police fired stun grenades at protesters who gathered after a video showing the learner being assaulted went viral.

Minister calls for intervention

The Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, has called for immediate intervention following the assault of several young people at the school. The alleged attackers include six of the school’s top-performing rugby players.

In a media statement issued today, the minister said he has engaged the South African Rugby Union (Saru) to determine the correct way forward, while acknowledging that rugby at the school level is managed by the Department of Basic Education, and not Saru.

The incident, which has drawn national attention, is made even more distressing by reports that one of the victims is a cancer survivor.

McKenzie expressed deep concern over happenings, highlighting how they underscore a toxic culture in some schools where privileged rugby players may feel ‘untouchable’ and exempt from accountability for outrageous behaviour.

“This hurts us all, and we need to do everything in our power to ensure that the sport of rugby promotes a culture of protecting the vulnerable,” said McKenzie. “Our Springboks have become heroes in the eyes of our people, and all rugby players must be inculcated with the culture that they too are heroes and should act like heroes.”

He emphasised that rugby should serve as a vehicle for young athletes to channel controlled physicality within the sport, while fostering values that combat gender-based violence, bullying and oppression. He also called for decisive action to send a clear message that bullying has no place in schools and that sports stars must be held to a higher standard of accountability, not granted protection.

Second chances

Reports indicate some of the suspects are up-and-coming stars in provincial and national rugby ranks. In his letter to Saru president Mark Alexander and CEO Rian Oberholzer, McKenzie requested that Saru intervene, however possible, stressing the importance of reforming the players to prevent further harm, while acknowledging the value of second chances.

“This need not be the end of their lives or their careers, because no one knows the value and importance of second chances more than I do,” McKenzie noted.

“However, these players must be shown the error of the path they are on. They must be reformed before they hurt someone else even more, and before even more harm is caused to the sport of rugby.”

“It is time that we address the root cause of a rugby culture in some schools that serves as an enabler for abuse. We need to be clearer about instilling stronger and more powerful values of defence and service in the hearts of our most gifted sporting sons,” he added.

A media statement issued by the minister stated that, during his engagements with Alexander, Saru made it clear that the matter falls under the jurisdiction of the education department.

“I am confident that both the school and the department will take the sternest possible view once all the facts have been established,” Alexander said.

He advised the minister that Saru had been concerned about school rugby for decades, including matters of schoolboy sports doping.

Although the incident did not take place in a rugby environment, Saru undertook to:

• Review the eligibility and conduct of implicated players within their development and representative pathways
• Collaborate with stakeholders to reinforce values-based education in rugby programmes, especially at school level
• Initiate dialogue with the departments of sport and education to address the broader cultural issues the minister identified.

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