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Teachers save girl from mob
10/03/2005 16:57 - (SA)
Riot Hlatshwayo
Acornhoek - Lessons came to an abrupt halt at a Limpopo high school when a new pupil was accused of being a Satanist on Wednesday.
Pupils at Phendulani High School in Cottondale near Acornhoek downed pens and gathered outside a Grade 10 class, where the 17-year-old newcomer was having lessons.
School principal Peter Mathebula on Thursday said: "They shouted at her and called her names, accusing her of being possessed by satanic spirits."
Some pupils shouted through the windows, while others forced their way inside and threatened to physically drag the terrified girl out.
The lynching was only averted when teachers formed a human wall between the chanting pupils and the sobbing teenager.
Mistaken identity
Teachers immediately forced the entire school to attend a special meeting, where the pupils explained that a rumour had started on Monday that a new pupil was a Satanist.
When they saw the new girl, who had been transferred to the school on Monday after her parents were separated, they assumed she was the girl. Word soon spread that she should be removed from the school.
Mathebula said pupils had apparently confused her with a girl at another school who had a similar hairstyle.
The pupils returned to class and the traumatised girl was given counselling.
Mathebula said: "I gave her counselling because she was crying hysterically. She eventually accepted that the other pupils had made a mistake."
The pupils representative council was expected to apologise to her on behalf of all the children.
The South African Constitution allowed all religions to be practised in South Africa, as long they did not violate other human rights, such as the right to life.
- African Eye
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