Eastern Cape teacher dismissed after threatening to rape pupil

An Eastern Cape teacher has been dismissed after an inquiry found that he threatened to rape a Grade 11 pupil who refused to give him her cellphone number.

Onke Tikise, an educator at Holy Cross High School in the OR Tambo Inland District, was also declared unsuitable to work with children after the inquiry found him guilty of misconduct relating to the threat made in 2024.

In an award dated Tuesday, Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC) commissioner Mxolisi Alex Nozigqwaba ordered his immediate dismissal and directed that the findings be referred to the South African Council for Educators (Sace) for consideration of further action.

The inquiry heard that the pupil, identified as SM, was standing with a friend near the school gate when Tikise approached her and repeatedly asked for her cellphone number.

When she refused, he allegedly asked whether she would give him permission to rape her because she would not give him her number.

SM testified that the remark left her feeling threatened and scared. She said she avoided Tikise while she was at the school because she feared he might act on the threat.

Her friend, identified as LN, corroborated her account, testifying that she was present when the incident occurred.

LN said Tikise appeared to be drunk when he approached them and asked SM for her number.

The two former pupils testified that SM was afraid to report the incident because she believed the school would not take it seriously.

SM said she was concerned that reporting the matter would have consequences for Tikise’s wife, who also teaches at the school. She also testified that she knew of other incidents involving teachers and pupils that she believed had not been properly addressed.

Tikise denied the allegations, saying he did not know SM and had never threatened her. He told the inquiry that teachers were trained to act in a parental role towards pupils and that he would not have made such remarks.

He also denied drinking at work.

Tikise’s representative argued that the pupil’s account lacked precise details about the date and occasion on which the incident occurred. The representative also questioned why the allegation had not been reported immediately.

However, Nozigqwaba found the differences in the witnesses’ recollections of the event preceding the incident were not material to their accounts of the alleged threat.

The commissioner said it was understandable that the witnesses might not remember the exact date or occasion, given that the incident occurred in 2024.

He also rejected the argument that the delay in reporting the incident undermined SM’s credibility, noting that she had explained her fears about reporting it.

The award referred to a Labour Court judgment which cautioned against dismissing sexual misconduct allegations simply because complainants delay reporting incidents or struggle to recall details clearly.

Nozigqwaba found both SM and LN to be reliable witnesses and said there was no reason to doubt their credibility.

He described Tikise’s version as a bare denial, noting that he focused on denying that he knew the pupil without providing an alternative account of what had happened.

The commissioner concluded that the evidence established, on a balance of probabilities, that Tikise had threatened SM with rape.

A separate charge of sexually harassing another pupil was withdrawn by the department of education because it could not locate the pupil to testify.

In determining the sanction, the commissioner found that Tikise’s conduct amounted to serious misconduct under the Employment of Educators Act.

He said the law required dismissal for educators found guilty of the relevant offences under section 17(1) of the act.

The award further found Tikise unsuitable to work with children under the Children’s Act and directed that the director-general of the department of social development be notified so that his details could be entered into the National Child Protection Register.

The ELRC was also ordered to refer the award to Sace within 14 days of receiving it for consideration of appropriate action.