Pupil commits suicide after being bullied for ’practising witchcraft’
Bully allegedly shielded by teacher had also bullied another learner
ONE of the three Bhisho High School learners accused of bullying fellow pupil Lathitha Nako, who committed suicide in the Eastern Cape, was recently “shielded” by a teacher after being found to have bullied another learner at the school.
Lathitha, 16, a Grade 10 pupil committed suicide allegedly after being bullied by three learners at the school.
They apparently accused her of practising witchcraft when in fact she had publicly told learners and some teachers she had a spiritual gift (intwaso).
But the three learners reportedly laughed at her and sometimes accused her of disrupting the class.
When the matter was brought to the attention of some teachers, it is alleged they failed to act, siding with the alleged bullies.
In a WhatsApp voice note sent by Lathitha to her friend shortly before she poisoned herself, the teenager detailed how she did not understand why one of her alleged bullies would accuse her of witchcraft when she told the learner that she had a spiritual gift and that they must not “worry” about her gift.
“The teachers are siding with these learners. I am tired of fighting because I don’t have the power to fight them. Let the will of God be done,” she said in reference to a meeting that was to be attended by her grandmother to discuss accusations of witchcraft.
Heartbroken Lathitha’s grandmother Kholeka Nako described her granddaughter as someone who was always “quiet and obedient” towards her elders.
“It is so painful and it will take a long time for me to get healed. The death of Lathitha has really robbed the future of my beloved granddaughter. I have raised her and know of her character better than any other person. Lathitha had fewer friends. Her best friend was her books. She loved reading so much,” said Nako.
Kholeka said she was never told of the alleged bullying of her granddaughter by the school.
“Even Lathitha has never shared this with me. I am crying because it seems my child suffered in silence.”
The teenager’s aunt Thabile Nako told Independent Media that Lathitha had a spiritual gift that manifested through dreams two years ago.
“We are still very shocked at the manner in which she died and we want an explanation from the school as to how this matter was handled when it was brought to its attention,” said Thabile.
Aggrieved by how Lathitha’s case was handled, learners at the school have demanded the immediate suspension of the teacher who attended to the matter.
The learners also want the three implicated learners to be expelled from the school.
A group of Sangomas, supporters of different political parties as well as learners and residents protested outside the school yesterday.
“Justice for Lathitha” as well as “Expel the bullies” were some of the messages on their posters.
Bhisho High School learners’ representative council member Lisakhanya Madolo said one of the alleged bullies had a case of bullying against her during the third term.
“We discussed the matter and the learner was ordered to publicly apologise to the whole school but one of the teachers, also implicated on Lathitha’s matter, said the learner must only apologise to the affected class. What we want is for the implicated teachers to be suspended and learners to be expelled,” Madolo said.
The Eastern Cape Department of Education said it was investigating the matter.
A team of officials from the department visited the school yesterday to gather relevant information on the matter.
“Apart from that, the team will assist learners through various training sessions to deal with bullying, undue peer pressure and programmes that will ensure peers help each other to report and [get] skills to cope under pressure,” the department said in a statement.
Lathitha will be buried at her Tyutyu Village's cemetery in Bhisho on Sunday.
Cape Times