The DA has accused the Mpumalanga Department of Education and the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) of paying lip service to the fight against gender-based violence by protecting one of their own instead of the victim.
At the centre of the scandal is Bheki Nkosi, the union’s South Highveld regional secretary, who was arrested in Bethal on May 29 for allegedly assaulting his girlfriend and fellow teacher, Nqobile Sihlangu.
What began as a romance between two colleagues collapsed into a case of violence and intimidation that threatens to expose the hypocrisy of the education sector’s leadership.
Nkosi was initially denied bail and spent weeks behind bars in the Bethal police cells. On June 26, the Evander Magistrate’s Court granted him bail of R2 000 under the strict conditions of a protection order barring him from contacting Sihlangu.
Yet DA member of the Mpumalanga legislature Annerie Weber stated this week that Nkosi violated the protection order while still in custody by harassing Sihlangu over the phone.
“It is alleged that while he was still in custody, Nkosi violated the protection order by getting hold of a cellular phone, contacting the victim and continuing to harass and threaten her,” Weber said.
Instead of suspending him, Sadtu provincial secretary Walter Hhlaise issued a letter days before Nkosi’s successful bail application on June 23, confirming that Nkosi would continue with his teaching duties after being shifted from Bethal to eMalahleni.
Sunday World has seen the letter, which effectively allowed Nkosi to remain in his post despite the charges. For Weber, this proves Sadtu and the department are not serious about combating GBV.
“This move shows Sadtu’s lack of seriousness in dealing with gender-based violence. Instead of taking decisive action, they simply shifted Nkosi to another town while dragging their feet on transferring the victim closer to her family in Nkomazi,” she said.
Weber said the union’s stance amounts to protecting Nkosi while re-victimizing Sihlangu. “Sadtu should have suspended Nkosi until his case is finalized. Instead, they are complicit in his continued intimidation [of the victim] by refusing to act, and by failing to assist the victim, who asked to be moved away from Bethal,” Weber said.
She added that on June 13, she wrote to both the union and the department asking them to intervene.
“To this day, there has been no decisive action from either. MEC Lindi Masina owes the province an explanation for why her department is tolerating such behaviour within the education system,” Weber said.
She also slammed Sadtu for not having a gender-based Violence and femicide (GBVF) policy. “For an organization of this size, representing thousands of teachers, to have no GBVF framework in place is reckless and shameful.
“They claim to stand for the rights of teachers yet cannot protect their own members from violence at the hands of senior officials.”
The DA now says it will escalate the matter to the portfolio committee on education to force both Sadtu and the department to explain their inaction.
“We cannot allow a culture of impunity to take root in education. GBV is everywhere in our society, but it cannot be tolerated where children, teachers and communities look to the system for safety,” Weber said.
Nkosi is due back in court on November 18, where the DA has vowed to picket outside the Evander Magistrate’s Court in solidarity with Sihlangu.
Meanwhile, Hhlaise promised to respond to a media enquiry on the matter, while Mpumalanga education spokesperson Gerald Sambo had not responded at the time of publication.
