Ladysmith boy tortured at Maritzburg school
"He had third-degree burns which went untreated for two weeks, despite a teacher at the school being made aware of the injuries," added the mother.
The mother of a 14-year-old boy from Ladysmith who was bullied at Voortrekker Hoërskool in Pietermaritzburg refuses to allow her son to go back to the school after a police investigating officer and officials from the Department of Education tried to convince her to take her son back to the school.
Weekend newspapers ran the shocking story about her son’s ordeal at the hands of prefects and other school bullies at the high school.
Her son had endured months of alleged hazing, brutal torture and humiliation.
On Monday, June 2 (today), the mother went to Pietermaritzburg to open a case against the prefect who burnt her son with a steam iron at the school. After a meeting with police, she spoke to the Head of Department, Mr Duma, and the investigating officer, Mr Bouwer, and they tried to convince her that her son would not be bullied ever again.
She, however, refused any offers of a safe return to the school.
“My son is very happy back home and is already attending another school,” says the mother.
The boy’s concerned mother went public with torture allegations against the school after her son had endured three months of abuse. He was also made to take part in organized fighting, where prefects would force the young boys to fight among themselves.
He had to endure every form of humiliation possible at the hands of prefects at the school. The teenager told the Ladysmith Gazette how he was forced to fight his best friend because the prefects thought it was a joke. If they refused to fight, they were beaten by the prefects.
Both the victim’s parents were horrified at how their son was treated at the school.
“He had third-degree burns which went untreated for two weeks, despite a teacher at the school being made aware of the injuries,” added the mother.
The teenager was bullied at school during bizarre initiation rituals conducted by prefects, and staff in charge of the boarding establishment appeared to have turned a blind eye to the boy’s plight. Civic and children’s rights groups have since called for action against those who victimised the boy.
The headmaster of the school initially told the mother that he would investigate the matter internally. This was, however, rejected by his parents, who went public with their torture claims.
The child’s name is known to the Ladysmith Gazette, as well as his new school. In keeping with current editorial policy, we have decided not to name the teenager, as he is a minor.
Update: Because of the nature of the charges now made public the mother’s name has been removed from the original story.
