Amy'Leigh kidnapping: 'We really trust our teachers' - parent

06 September 2019 - 07:30 By Belinda Pheto
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Alida van der Merwe, whose two grandchildren are pupils at the school, said it was "unbelievable" that a teacher was a suspect in the kidnapping of Amy'Leigh de Jager.
Alida van der Merwe, whose two grandchildren are pupils at the school, said it was "unbelievable" that a teacher was a suspect in the kidnapping of Amy'Leigh de Jager.
Image: Supplied

Parents at Laerskool Kollegepark in Vanderbijlpark have expressed mixed feelings over reports that one of the teachers at the school was arrested in connection with the kidnapping of Amy'Leigh de Jager.

Alida van der Merwe, whose two grandchildren are pupils at the school, said it was "unbelievable" that a teacher was a suspect.

"We really trust teachers and when we drop our children here we leave them with that trust that they are in good hands," she said.

Another parent, Monica Venter, said the kidnapping incident had caused her to be more alert when dropping off or picking up her daughter and niece at the school.

"I make sure that I familiarise myself with all the people and cars that are always at school when I'm here," she said.

Long-time parent at the school Yolanda Skinner said she was very disappointed and felt like the news had cast the school in a bad light.

"This is one of the best schools in the area and I'm just sad that all these developments will affect the school negatively," she said.

Skinner said for now she was interested in getting the full story before saying more.  

One of the parents at the school said it would be interesting to know why the child was kidnapped because the parents were middle-class and not "filthy rich".

"The father is a teacher and the mother is a stay-at-home mom. They live normal lives."

6-year-old Amy'Leigh de Jager was kidnapped in front of her school gate on September 2 2019 by four men and loaded into a white Toyota Fortuner. Her grandfather, Martin Brouwer, spoke out about how the ordeal impacted their lives and describes the relief the family felt when they saw Amy’Leigh for the first time after the incident.


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