The Mitchells Plain community is upset that a male teacher at a local primary school is still employed despite facing rape charges involving a former student.
Community activist Ebrahim Davids said the Westpoort Primary School teacher, whose identity is known to the Daily Voice, was arrested last November after a 13-year-old girl reported the rape in October 2019, but since then it has been “swept under the rug” by the school.
“I was informed by a parent who saw the teacher coming out of court a few weeks ago and after we obtained the charge sheet, we found out that he was out on bail for raping a girl that is now in high school,” says Ebrahim.
“I approached the school governing body on 27 August who first said they had no knowledge of the matter but when I checked up on the same day, they then said the department is investigating the issue.
“We, as a community and parents of pupils at the school, are deeply concerned that the teacher is still at the school and when it became known that the community was aware, the teacher was off on sick leave.”
According to Ebrahim, the teacher is back on duty at the school and was due for another court appearance on 10 September.
The community believes the teacher should have been suspended pending the court case.
Western Cape Education Department spokesperson Bronagh Hammond confirmed the case.
“The incident (arrest) occurred in 2020 during lockdown,” Hammond says.
“It (the rape) did not happen in the school – the alleged victim was also not attending the school at that time – but had already advanced to Grade 8 in 2020.
“The alleged victim subsequently moved to another province.
“On being informed about the allegations against the educator, the principal, Rodney Hendricks, immediately reported it to the WCED for investigation, while the South African Council for Educators was also informed.”
Hammond said due to a lack of evidence and the inability to contact the parent or the learner, the department closed the investigation while the teacher has been appearing in court since March.
When the Daily Voice contacted the school governing body, queries were referred to Mr Hendricks who said he had “no comment”.
NPA spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila confirmed the child rape suspect was due to appear in court again on Friday, adding that he couldn’t comment any further.