- Thousands across South Africa are marching under #JusticeForCwecwe to support a seven-year-old girl who was raped at her school.
- The school was deregistered after the principal, one of three suspects, refused to give a DNA sample.
A school principal refused to give a DNA sample after a seven-year-old girl was raped at Bergview College in Matatiele.
People in cities across the country are protesting and using the hashtag #JusticeForCwecwe to call for justice.
The assault happened on 14 October 2024, but the police investigation has reportedly been held up because the principal won’t cooperate.
In a letter dated 17 February 2025, his lawyers at AfriForum said the request for a DNA sample was “an abuse of the process”.
“This abuse of process puts our client in an untenable position in which agreeing to the request for a sample raises the suspicion that he is a suspect, and rejecting the request raises the same suspicion,” they wrote.
AfriForum said they would cooperate with police but insisted the principal should not have to give DNA since he is not an official suspect.
But Police Minister Senzo Mchunu said the principal is one of three suspects in the case.
Education MEC Fundile Gade deregistered the school on Friday, saying it failed to work with the police.
The board of trustees hit back, saying Gade has no legal power to shut the school and vowed to fight the decision in court.
“The school has taken urgent legal advice and we have been advised that the MEC does not have the authority or power to withdraw our school’s registration as he has purported to do,” the board said in a statement.
Gade said he was not worried and would meet them in court.
On Sunday, people took to the streets in various places across the country. More protests are planned this week, with the biggest one expected on Tuesday.
Marchers say they’ll go to provincial education departments to demand safer schools for children.
Pictured above: University of KwaZulu-Natal students marching for #JusticeForCwecwe on Sunday.
Image source: Thabie Mabhusula Madlala/Facebook
