Byline: Andani Matumba

21 November 2022

Learners from Kriel High School and Sibongamandla Secondary School took to the streets marching against the injustice that happened to Bafana Uluthando Sithole, a grade 11 learner from Kriel High School who committed suicide at the school on Thursday, 17 November 2022 following the allegations of rape against him.

According to the learners from Kriel High School, a fellow female learner alleged that Bafana had rapped her and following those allegations he was stripped of all his stripes/badges honor which he had received by school’s principal.

It was further alleged that after the tragic incident the girl said she was “Just joking”.

According to reports, Kriel Police Station received a call regarding a learner who had committed suicide at Kriel High School.

When the police arrived at the scene, they found that a learner identified as Bafana Sithole had committed suicide at the school’s storage room using his red school tie and was hanging from the bugler door.

Medics were summoned to the scene and tried their level best to resuscitate him but he was declared dead on the scene of the crime.

The police stated further that there was no rape case which was opened at Kriel SAPS against the deceased.

Another learner who stated that she was the friend of the girl who accused the deceased of rape said that Bafana has been living a life of being labeled a rapist for about three months before his death.

“Bafana’s only crime was to tell the lady to stop pursuing him because he had a girl friend, that is when she told him that she will tell everyone that he raped her which she did,” said the friend.

The learners say that they are angered and triggered by the fact that the principal of the school acted in an impulsive manner by demoting Bafana without even hearing his side of the story as he was appointed head boy for 2023.

The learners say that the girl who made the rape allegations was escorted by the police to the exam room meanwhile the injustice continues.

Seskhona Newspaper also spoke to Nkosinathi Ndaba, Bafana’s uncle who stated that he does not understand how the school could have taken such a decision of demoting their child based on the rape issue without getting parents involved because they were dealing with a case which involves minor children.

“When Bafana received his accolades, my sister was invited to the school but after the rape allegations, they just decided to crucify him without any evidence and never even bothered to involve us as a family”.

The suicide notes where only discovered in deceased’s phone after he had passed on.