By Buziwe Nocuze
The students of Sinethemba High School in Philippi, Cape Town, are standing up for justice and unity.
A protest took place on Monday outside the school premises, with learners expressing their anger and frustration towards a teacher who is accused of rape and the principal, whom they have accused of protecting him.
The protest was sparked by the revelation that a 21-year-old learner, who is also a family member of the accused, had allegedly been raped by the teacher on two consecutive days in July.
The learners claimed they found out about the incident late because the principal tried to cover up for the accused and downplayed the seriousness of the allegations.
A learner who wanted to remain anonymous said they decided to protest so that the principal could see that they didn’t like what he was doing.
“We found out that the reason for the delay was our principal who is covering up for the accused, saying that the teacher was a nice person and he would never do anything like that,” said the learner.
The accused teacher was arrested on 17 July and appeared in court on 21 July. He was remanded in custody and is set to appear in court again on 4 August.
The learners are seeking support from the community and have taken their plea for justice to the streets of Philippi.
The learner said they are determined to make sure that the teacher remains in custody and is not allowed to return to the school. They plan to rally outside the court during the teacher’s next appearance to show their support for the victim.
While the learners expressed their concerns about getting into trouble with the school authority for being absent during the court appearance, community members have shown solidarity with the learners and their pursuit of justice.
The Western Cape Education Department is conducting an investigation into the allegations against the teacher, separate from the criminal proceedings. Counselling support has also been offered to the affected learner and the school.
Pictured above: Sinethemba High School in Philippi, Cape Town
Image source: Buziwe Nocuze
