The Sunday News
Thobekile Khumalo, Sunday News Reporter
A teacher at the Roman Catholic-run Empandeni Girls High in Mangwe District, Matabeleland South has been suspended after he allegedly sexually abused a Form One pupil, it has been learnt.
Matabeleland South provincial education director Mr Lifias Masukume said they were handling the matter, where Mr Thandanani Moyo has been accused of sexual abuse.
“The district offices in Mangwe are carrying out thorough investigations in order to make sure that a similar case does not happen. What I can confirm at the moment is that the teacher has been reported missing for the past days,” he said.
According to parents whose pupils are learning at the school, the Roman Catholic-run institution called up a meeting with parents on Friday where the matter was discussed. A parent who attended the meeting said other parents reported the matter to the police but they were told that only the parents of the affected pupil could file a complaint. She said parents were worried about the incident and feared this could be one of many incidents happening at the institution.
“As parents we are afraid of what might happen next because we are not satisfied with the judgment that has been given to this teacher. The school authorities said that he was given a three months suspension and then transferred to a new school but the question that remains is what if he goes to that new school and does the same thing,” she said.
She said parents expressed anger over the institution which has been trying to keep the matter under wraps.
“In such cases the school does not have the right to keep a secret over such a big issue because it concerns every parent who has a child at the school. However, the school was supposed to involve parents as soon as they found out. This shows the extent to which the school is not serious in handling the matter.”
She said most parents were now concerned about the safety of their children.
She said as parents they also created a WhatsApp group where they came up with ways of tackling the problem.
“As parents we have resolved that next week we are going to the school to talk to children as parents in order to understand what really happened and if he only abused that student. What hurts the most is that the child is very young and after all an orphan so there is no one standing up for her and in such cases the school is expected to do so but they are not taking their job seriously,” she said.
Contacted for comment, the teacher denied the allegations of sexually abusing a pupil at the school.
“I am aware that there is a student who filed a complaint against me at the school and that there is a protest ongoing but I have never sexually harassed any student at the school. What I can say is there is a hand of a teacher involved in the issue who is trying to pin me down for something I haven’t done, even if you call the school they will tell you that there is a lot of politics within that school that I do not even understand,” said Mr Moyo.
