By Doreen Mokgolo
The gun planted in the bag of a Grade 10 learner from Nick Mpshe Secondary School in Winterveldt was found to be a fake.
Gauteng police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Mavela Masonto confirmed that the firearm was a toy gun.
Two weeks ago, the learner had gone to the school bathroom and on his return, his friends told him to check his bag as some learners had placed a gun in it.
He immediately reported the gun to the teachers and the police, who were at the school at the time for a search and seizure operation.
For his pains, the learner was suspended, as were two others who had been pointed out by fellow learners as the culprits who had placed the gun in the learner’s bag.
At a disciplinary hearing at the school on Tuesday, the victim of the prank was allowed back in class after one of the suspended learners confessed to having put the toy gun in his bag.
Both learners who planted the toy gun are still suspended.
The learner’s mother, who remains anonymous to protect his identity, is happy that her son has been allowed back to school and can focus on his studies.
The president of the Progressive Student Movement, Kabelo Nthekiso, welcomed the decision to allow the learner to return to class.
“We appreciate the [other] learner for coming forward and confessing to the crime, in the process vindicating the innocent learner.
“We will continue monitoring the situation to ensure that the [wrongly accused] learner is not victimised while trying to settle back in school,” he said.
Pictured above: Nick Mpshe Secondary School.
Image source: Supplied
