Family of boy allegedly raped in Krugersdorp special needs school demand justice

After allegedly being raped in his school toilets for about four months, *Thabo [not his real name], a 17-year-old boy with special needs, is still awaiting justice.

His family has told TimesLIVE it wants justice and answers as they battle to help him cope with his trauma.

Since November 2022, Thabo has allegedly been raped by two fellow school pupils aged 18 and 19 while a third is alleged to have kept watch. 

According to Thabo's family, the boys raped him as punishment for not having R50 or lunch to give them. He was allegedly dragged into the toilets after the break while on his way to class.

According to the boy's uncle, who cannot be named to protect the child's identity, the rapes occurred up to three times a week, normally on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays.

“The class he had to go to was upstairs and the bathroom was on the way to the class, so whenever they saw him they would drag him from the corridors into the bathroom. One would stand watch while the two would have their way. He would always be late for class after break. The teachers didn't notice and the one teacher kept giving him detention. They didn't ask him why he was late, they just gave him detention,” said the uncle.

“The boys would threaten him and said if he went to the police they would kill him,” the uncle added. 

The last rape was alleged to have happened on February 24.

Before this, Thabo is alleged to have tried to report it to a teacher, who according to the uncle, “said he was busy and should come back later. He went back later and still, the teacher was busy and couldn't speak to him”.

The boy's grandmother noticed blood stains on his trousers but he said it was a “snack colour” he had eaten.

Though his uncle and grandmother, who are the boy's legal guardians, noticed his change in behaviour, Thabo only opened up in March after he was caught stealing at a shop and his grandmother promised him a beating if he didn't explain why he was stealing. 

“We would give him money and tell him to buy mince. Instead of buying mince he would steal it so he gets to keep the money to pay these boys,” the uncle said. 

The grandmother reported the matter to school social worker after Thabo explained why he had been stealing money.

“The [school] apologised and said they were not aware of what was happening,” the uncle said.

A case was opened with Krugersdorp police on March 9 and the boy was taken for a medical examination.

“On the same day of opening the case he was examined the culprits were arrested,” he said.

Police spokesperson Capt Raymond Sebonyane said the suspects, aged 17, 18 and 19, had been arrested and the case was being investigated by the Krugersdorp family violence, child protection and sexual offences unit, but the uncle said they were in the dark about the case. 

“There wasn't a hearing. We went to court. We don't know what happened. The boys were just released,” the uncle said about the court proceedings. 

He alleged the only communication they received was from the investigating officer who said he would not investigate the matter further.

“The officer said he is not going to take the case because it is not him [the victim] who came forward, but it's the grandmother, so they are doubting his authenticity to the case.  They are questioning his credibility to say if your grandmother had not questioned you, when were you going to speak out?” he said.

However, Sebonyane said the rape case is under investigation and the investigating officer is waiting for the prosecutor's instructions.

The uncle has accused police of lack of urgency in the matter.

He said they haven't yet managed to take Thabo out of the school.

“We haven’t changed schools yet, but the school has promised to take the boy into separate classes and the perpetrators would be expelled.” 

According to the victim's family, the alleged perpetrators are under expulsion,   but Thabo was still traumatised. 

“He is not OK. He is a jumpy person. He doesn't sleep well at night, he has trust issues with other people when he is not familiar with them, he is pretty much unstable,” the uncle said.

They have  expressed concern about pupil safety at the school.

“The response they gave me was that they have a system in place where they lock the bathrooms and there is one teacher who is assigned to that bathroom. How do these boys have access to this bathroom when the bathroom is controlled? I have a lot of unanswered questions,” said the uncle.

“I am outraged; the thing is my rage has to be directed to someone and the only person I can direct my rage to is the perpetrator,” he added. 

The Gauteng department of education confirmed it was aware of the matter, but said it was only informed on March 8.

“We are concerned and investigations are under way. The parents of the affected learner opened a case with the police and the alleged perpetrators were arrested,” said department spokesperson Steve Mabona.

The department's psychosocial support team was deployed to support to the victim, his family and the school. 

“We condemn acts of misconduct by learners that dehumanises, demeans and potentially endangers other learners. Such behaviour undermines the dignity of our learning institutions. Learner ill-discipline will not be tolerated,”Mabona said, 

The department has appealed to parents to enforce discipline on their children in and outside the school environment.

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