Principal accused of throwing hot water at pupils

A Gqeberha principal is facing an assault charge for allegedly throwing hot water on a group of pupils for being too noisy outside his office.

Though the police had initially withdrawn the case, the Bethelsdorp police station reopened the investigation two weeks ago following an outcry from the family of a grade 7 Van der Kemp Primary pupil who sustained burns on her left arm. 

Principal Alroy Johnson is facing a case of common assault for allegedly throwing hot water on a group of pupils through his office window while they waited for their transport on August 6.

A 14-year-old pupil, who lives in Missionvale, sustained burns on her forearm, which led to her being taken to hospital, her mother said. 

The mother registered a case with the Bethelsdorp police station on August 13, but a month later [September 19] she received an SMS from the police stating that the case had been withdrawn and the docket closed.

This caused an outrage and the case was reopened on September 22. 

Police spokesperson Sandra Janse van Rensburg confirmed on Friday that a case of common assault was opened for investigation.

“On September 2, the docket was sent to the senior public prosecutor for a decision,” Janse van Rensburg said.

“On September 19, the docket was returned to the station and the case was withdrawn in court.

“However, on September 22, the Bethelsdorp police reopened the case for further investigation.

“Thereafter the docket will be sent again to the senior public prosecutor for a decision.” 

National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Luxolo Tyali said he would check why the case was withdrawn.

“The senior public prosecutor will call up the docket on Monday and check the reasons,” Tyali said.

“They deal with multitudes of decision dockets a month, so it is difficult to remember all decisions.”

The pupil’s mother, whose identity is withheld to protect her daughter, said she had learnt about the incident from her daughter and a grade R teacher to whom it had been reported.

“My daughter said she and other pupils had been waiting for their transport outside the school premises when one of the teachers told them to rather wait inside the yard for safety reasons.

“She and some of her friends went to sit by the parking lot, leaning on the principal’s office wall, below his window, while one of the girls was standing as they were chatting.

“The principal knocked on his window on two occasions, perhaps to have them move away or quieten down.

“When he returned to the window the third time he was carrying a glass jar.

“He [allegedly] threw the water from the jar at them.

“Some ducked or ran away, but my daughter was hit on the arm.”

She said one of her daughter’s friends accompanied her to the deputy principal’s office to show him what Johnson had allegedly done as the girl’s arm had turned pink and she was crying hysterically.

“The deputy principal apparently dismissed it and said it was a mistake.

“They moved on to a teacher, who took them back to the principal’s office as she was shocked by the incident.

“My daughter said when they arrived in his office there was a kettle and a jar on the table.

“When the teacher inquired from the principal about the incident, he [allegedly] said the water was cold, but the teacher put her hand inside the jar and [allegedly] felt hot water.

“While they were busy, one of the pupils came in to call my daughter because her transport had arrived.

“The principal [allegedly] hugged her and said she must not report the matter to her mother.”

The pupil’s mother said she received a call from the teacher that day informing her about the incident and that she should report to the school the next day.

“My family said my daughter had been crying the entire afternoon since she returned from school.

“When I got home from work later, blisters had formed and I had to take her to the hospital first thing in the morning.

“When we got to Dora Nginza Hospital and she was treated, the doctor who assisted us advised that we open a case with the police seeing as how bad the wound was.”

On September 12, the mother flanked by other family members visited the school for a meeting which included a department of education manager.

“The manager took statements from us and the principal.”

After the meeting at the school, the mother decided to open a case with the police as her daughter was scared to return to school.

“I was surprised on September 19 when I got an SMS that the case had been withdrawn.

“No police officer had contacted me about this to provide reasons.

“I was confused and that’s when I decided to post about the incident that happened to my daughter on Facebook.

“On September 22, I went to the police station where I was informed that the teacher had [allegedly] turned against my daughter to become a witness in the principal’s story that ... it was cold water.

“I was also told there was no J88 form attached to the case docket.”

She said the police who assisted her said the case would be reinstated and she had not received feedback since then.

Johnson said on Friday he was aware of the alleged incident but declined to comment further on the matter.

He scrolled for a short while on his phone, showed the reporter a screenshot of a Facebook post that depicted two pictures, one of the girl’s arm with blisters and another also of the girl’s arm after she had been treated in hospital.

Both pictures had been sent to The Herald by the pupil’s mother.

“When you look at these photos, you will see that it’s not the same arm [meaning not same person’s arm]. Did you notice that?” Johnson asked.

“In one photo [which shows the blisters] the burnt area is on the inside of the arm, but on the other [that shows pink flesh] the wound is on the outside.”

The Herald has seen the pupil’s left arm. Though the forearm is still pink, it is in the process of healing.

Johnson then made several phone calls while pacing in and out of his office, and a short while later said he had been advised by his manager not to speak to the media.

“You can speak to the department about this,” he said.

“You should know there’s a ruling against school principals speaking to the media. 

“You must also make provision [for] whether the side of the story that you have is what’s very close to the truth.” 

One of the school governing body (SGB) members, referred to as Mrs Strydom, who would not give her first name, confirmed that she was aware of the alleged incident.

“But aren’t you the reporter who was here this morning? Sorry, I can’t speak any further on the matter,” she said before cutting the call.

Education department spokesperson Malibongwe Mtima confirmed the department was aware of the alleged incident.

“As soon as we were apprised of what had [allegedly] happened, an investigation was immediately conducted by the director,” Mtima said.

“A labour relations process was also instituted and we are awaiting the outcome, while the director is still synthesising the investigation report.”