ANC veteran and former treasurer-general of the party Mathews Phosa says “the law must take its course” on the incident where a pupil was burned with boiling water by another pupil. The incident happened at Mathews Phosa College in Mpumalanga.
Law must take its cause
Speaking to Sunday World, Phosa said: “It is an unfortunate incident. Let us respect the process of the law. The police are not done investigating. And the NPA [National Prosecuting Authority] has not yet taken a decision to prosecute.
“Let us allow the law to take its course. I am a lawyer. I cannot prejudge issues. The matter is under investigation and the law must take its course.”
The incident happened on the morning of November 3 last year at the boarding section of the school. The high school is based in Schoemanskloof, east of Nelspruit, Mpumalanga.
Established in 1994
The school was established in 1994 and was named after Matthews Phosa. This was during his tenure as Mpumalanga’s first premier following South Africa’s first democratic elections.
Meanwhile, Mpumalanga education department spokesperson Jasper Zwane confirmed the investigation. He said the department had received a detailed report from the school regarding the incident.
Zwane said the pupil who is alleged to have burned the other pupil with boiling water had no intention to do so.
He said the pupil appeared before the school’s disciplinary committee. He was subsequently suspended from going to classes for a couple of days.
Incident was unintentional
Zwane said the pupil was also given a final written warning.
“The department received the report from the school, which explained in detail what happened. It also explained how the school managed the processes after the incident,” said Zwane.
“According to the report, the learner who is alleged to have burnt the other one with water had no intention to do so. In accordance with the school’s code of conduct for learners, he appeared before the school’s disciplinary committee.
“He was later suspended from going to classes for a number of days. The learner was also given a final written warning. The report remains a property of the department, at least for now. It cannot be made public.”
It is not clear if the final warning means the learner had previous warnings or is due to the severity of the current matter.
School wouldn’t comment on matter
The school’s managing director, Patcy Struwig, has previously said she does not want to comment on the incident.
In November last year, Mpumalanga police spokesperson Brigadier Selvy Mohlala confirmed the incident. He said a case of assault was opened at the Ngodwana police station.
“Detectives will be visiting the school to continue with their investigations. They will speak to the victim and the alleged suspect,” said Mohlala at the time.
Provincial police spokesperson Colonel Donald Mdhluli said the case has been handed over. He said the docket was sent to the Mpumalanga Director of Public Prosecutions on December 6. It was sent for a decision to be taken on whether to prosecute or not.
NPA yet to decide on prosecution
“The police investigators are waiting for the decision by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA),” said Mdhluli.
Mpumalanga National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Monica Nyuswa said the case docket was receiving attention. She added that a decision whether to prosecute was not yet taken.
Nyuswa said the NPA returned the docket back to the police. This was so that they can obtain certain outstanding information needed in the investigation.
“We acknowledge that we received a docket from the police. The delay [in attending to the docket] was caused by the December holidays. However, the same docket has now been returned to the investigating officer. [They need] to compile it with the outstanding investigation and return it back for a decision.
More information on the incident needed
“The J88 has not been completely filled in. It has no hospital stamp as well. The complainant gave a picture of part of the injuries which are described. We requested [the police] for more, showing the other described injuries as it is burns from hot water.
“And there is most likely video footage as the incident happened in a communal area at a boarding school. Because there were no witnesses, we requested that they [police] check for any footage at the school. The police were instructed to do the above and return the docket back to the NPA,” said Nyuswa.
Meanwhile, the mother of the pupil who was scalded with boiling water said she has found a new school for her son.
Victim enrolled in another school
When asked about the sanction meted out against the alleged culprit, she said she could not comment now. The woman said had just come out of the operation theatre where she had surgery. She said she will be able to give her reaction to the sanction next week.
The 39-year-old woman, who did not want to be named, told Sunday World that she had taken her child out of the school. She said she took him out after a fellow pupil “unintentionally” shoved a kettle of boiling water he was carrying.
Sunday World has seen pictures showing the burn scars that her son sustained after the incident. A portion of the skin on his nose, mouth and chest was peeled off.
The injured pupil was in Grade 10 last year. The other pupil was also in Grade 10 last year. Both pupils are 18-years-old.
