Eastern Cape Schoolgirl Assaulted in Viral Video: Public Demands Action as Education Department Launches Investigation.
(The Post News)- A video of a girl being mocked by a group of boys in a scholar transport has gone viral on social media. The footage shows the group taunting the girl, and as she gets off the transport, one boy is seen slapping and pushing her. The video has fueled anger among Facebook users.
The bullying incident is captured in two 37-second videos. In the first, the girl, a learner from David Mama High School in the Eastern Cape, is seen inside the scholar transport being mocked, while those nearby laugh. A girl’s voice is heard in the background saying, “Andizuyi trendinisa,” which means “I won’t make it trend.”
The second video shows a boy chasing the girl, blocking her path, and then proceeding to slap her multiple times.
The footage has been widely shared on Facebook, with many users questioning the lack of intervention from the bus driver, the girl’s schoolmates, and the person filming.
“So the bus driver didn’t do anything either,” a Facebook user commented.
Another user, Khido Mollele, wrote:
“I’m really hurt, especially by the girl who’s laughing. As a girl, what if that was happening to her? I understand the driver keeping quiet, our children out there are animals; they could stab him if he spoke. This situation is really sad.”
The Eastern Cape Education Department announced that it would visit the school on Monday, August 4, to investigate the incident.
The department described the video as “unacceptable” and “unimaginable.”
In a statement, the department said:
“This unbecoming behavior is projecting a deep societal problem that needs every parent to take responsibility in raising his or her kids.”
They also promised to provide the necessary psychosocial support to the victim.
The Congress of South African Students (COSAS) released a statement urging the department to act swiftly. They are calling for:
- Immediate suspension and disciplinary action against the perpetrators
- A full investigation into the role of scholar transport service providers, learner supervision protocols, and the incident itself
- Psychosocial support and protection for the victim and her family
- Deployment of learner support agents and safety officers to the school
A third video has since surfaced. In it, a boy is seen inside a classroom mocking the girl while discussing the incident. He is heard saying, “They have beaten you good,” translated from isiXhosa. He claims he was not the one who assaulted the girl but that “they slapped her well.” He adds that even if the principal were to see the video, it wouldn’t matter since he wasn’t the one who hit her, “but they beaten her good.”
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