Pupil (7) dies after school fight
A GRADE 2 pupil has died from his injuries after an alleged fight at school in Rustenburg, North West.
Oboitshepo Rangwako (7) from Motsitle Primary School in Mamerotse, died last Thursday after arriving home from school.
Provincial police spokesperson Brig Sabata Mokgwabone confirmed that police were investigating his death.
“According to information available at this stage, reports suggest that the boy, who is a Grade 2 pupil at a local school in Mamerotse village, arrived home at about 2pm from school and found his 17-year-old sister at home.
“She noticed that her brother had bruises on the head. Upon being questioned, the boy allegedly indicated that he had a fight with other learners at school.
“He then went to sleep. The sister went to check up on him later and tried to wake him up but he did not respond. The boy was taken to Tlaseng Clinic where he was certified dead on arrival,” said Mokgwabone.
Family spokesperson Kabelo Legane, an uncle of Rangwako’s, said: “The family is in utter shock. The news of Oboitshepo’s passing has naturally left us all in great pain and disbelief. He was a gentle, kind and generous boy. He was very expressive of his love especially to his mom and always had a smile.”
North West education department spokesperson Elias Malindi said their investigation revealed that the school has no record of any fight on their premises on Thursday.
“We checked with the school principal, teachers and the pupil’s classmates and none of them could confirm the incident. The pupil’s scholar transport driver told the principal that he picked up the child last week Thursday after school at the school gate and the child was fine and did not have any injuries.
“The child was then dropped off at his usual spot after school. We do not know what happened from the time the child was dropped off to the time he got home,” said Malindi.