‘We fear for our lives’

THE mother of one of the accused in the Milnerton High School assault drama has claimed that someone tried to run over her child last week.

Eight learners - six adults and two minors - appeared at the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on Thursday on charges of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm.

The learners are accused of assaulting a younger boy, after a video of a Milnerton High learner being assaulted with sticks and belts by fellow learners went viral earlier in the week.

The six adults were granted R2 000 bail, while the two minors were released with warnings.

But the mother claims that even though the learners are “free”, they now fear for their lives.

She revealed to Tabletalk that a car nearly rammed into her son while he walked along the pavement on Wednesday, 22 October.

She shared video footage of the incident from a home CCTV camera, where a car speeds up to the pavement, and a teenager can be seen jumping out of the way.

“We fear for our lives and are scared to speak out,” she said.

Meanwhile, Bronagh Hammond, spokesperson for the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) confirmed the victim is also under investigation for alleged bullying, with a disciplinary process underway.

However, parents and advocacy groups have dismissed this as an attempt to deflect attention.

Vanessa le Roux, spokesperson for Parents for Equal Education, said she was alarmed that officials were investigating the victim in the viral video for being a “bully,” based on edited clips where he allegedly fought back.

Le Roux told the Cape Argus: “The incident where he was beaten with the weapons was one of three incidents that we saw on video, on different occasions.

“He reported it, and nothing was done. We saw the entire videos, not in one of these videos were he the aggressor. In fact in two of them he just took the beating, this one he actually fought back.”

Le Roux added that the National Portfolio Committee on Basic Education and the Human Rights Commission which met on 23 October 23 at the school following the outrage, cited that the school, and the WCED were “caught in all their lies” during a recent meeting with parents.

She said: “They were so arrogant, they actually lied in the presence of these parents! I hope the HRC charge you for perjury!

"They lied in their statement, saying that they were in contact with the parents.

“Not once did they make contact until the morning of the visit; there was no psychological assistance as they said in their statement.

"They were caught in their lies. ‘K’ was not the only victim. There were other victims too; we have met their parents.”

The case now involves eight complainants, with additional videos surfacing showing further incidents of bullying. Hammond confirmed these cases are being addressed through the school’s disciplinary hearings.