Oprah's school in scandal

2007-10-21 20:20

Gavin Prins

Henley-On-Klip - A matron at Oprah Winfrey's posh school for girls near Vereeniging apparently "fondled" one of the pupils, and assaulted another.

Rapport newspaper has also revealed that the matron, who is alleged to have grabbed a girl by the throat and thrown her against a wall, is not the only one to have been charged with unacceptable behaviour by girls at Oprah's school.

They claim John Samuel, Chief Executive Officer at the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, failed to take action after their first reports of alleged abuse.

The drama at the Henley-on-Klip school unfolded when the American chat show queen missed an important Hollywood engagement last weekend, and left for South Africa urgently. She returned home that Sunday.

The matron has been temporarily suspended pending an investigation involving the child protection unit (CPU).

Rapport has learnt that Winfrey flew to South Africa again on Friday, to see how the investigation was going.

She held an urgent meeting with parents on Saturday afternoon.

One girl ran away

Parents from all over the country (there are about 150 girls in the school) were flown to Johannesburg for the meeting, which lasted for more than two hours.

Rapport heard from a family member of one of the pupils that the matron's alleged misconduct came to light recently when one of the girls ran away from the school.

She returned home to her parents in Springs, because the alleged abuse apparently had become intolerable.

She was one of the girls who had complained to Samuels. In order to protect her, Rapport has not revealed her identity.

After the girl ran away, Samuel apparently called on Oprah to help, and she ordered the investigation.

All that Samuel would say to Rapport on Saturday evening was: "An investigation is under way and the process must be respected."

Probe team includes Chicago cop

The charges against the matron were that she often swore and screamed at the children, assaulted the girls, that she choked one girl and threw her against a wall and that she indecently fondled at least one of the girls.

The head of Guateng's CPU, Superintendent Andre Neethling said on Saturday that Oprah had appointed a team that included a former Chicago cop, to investigate the allegations.

The team met Neethling at the school on Saturday morning and their report, which consisted of interviews with the girls, was handed over to the CPU.

Superintendent Lungelo Dlamini said on Saturday: "A dossier has not been opened. We're going to study the report to see if there are grounds for an investigation.

"But, we can't say anything at present about the nature of the report," Dlamini said.

Oprah held the meeting on Saturday to inform parents fully about the nature of the investigation.

"Oprah reassured the parents about the safety and welfare of the children," said a relative of one of the girls.

Extra security laid on

Security arrangements at the school had been stepped up in the past week, said a neighbour, who did not want to be identified.

She said at least two vehicles had been patrolling in the vicinity of the school since the previous weekend.

The school cost Oprah about R268m. She personally selected the less-privileged girls who attend it.

Two pupils, Michelle Conradie and Gwyneth Mans, left the school earlier this year because of "cultural differences" with the other girls.

- Rapport