Girl’s alleged assailant in court

THE father of the teenage girl who was allegedly brutally assaulted at Siyathuthuka High School in Inanda, north of Durban, in November wants justice for his child.

The man said yesterday that he hoped to see the boy who allegedly beat his then 16-year-old daughter until she bled, convicted and sentenced to prison time.

“She is trying to move on but it’s a struggle, she still gets headaches,” he said yesterday.

The suspect’s first appearance in court was scheduled for today.

A harrowing video – of a teenage boy brutally assaulting his female peer on a school premises – emerged on Twitter on Women’s Day.

In the video, the boy throws the girl against a wall, while a group of others shout in isiZulu: “Scratch her face.”

She falls to the ground and remains silent as he kicks her repeatedly and shouts at her that she is “talking s***”.

Then he casually walks away. The girl struggles to get up. She appears to be bleeding.

The video garnered national attention, and the day after it surfaced, the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Basic Education identified the school at which it was filmed as Siyathuthuka.

On Friday, a criminal case was opened at Inanda police station, and later that evening, a suspect was handed over by his father. He is facing charges of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm.

The girl’s father said yesterday that he felt vindicated and relieved that there was finally some progress in the case.

Police allegedly refused to entertain his initial attempts at opening a case immediately after the incident.

He said yesterday that now the law should run its course and he would be monitoring the case closely.

The department said in a statement at the weekend that it had visited the school on a fact-finding mission.

“The school principal gave us a report which indicated that in fact the incident happened in November 2016,” it said.

It is understood that both children in the video have since changed schools.

The department said it had identified some “gaps” in the manner in which the school handled the matter.

“We have ordered that an internal tribunal be started afresh and that it be headed up at a district office level to ensure transparency,” it said.

“We stand firm against all forms of violent incidents that may occur in our schools. We will follow this particular case closely to ensure that justice is served.”