JOHANNESBURG, SA- Shocking details of how a Soweto secondary school principal and a teacher repeatedly gang-raped a learner at the school have emerged.
These are contained in a new arbitration ruling that has gone against Mishack Khoza, the teacher.
Khoza was charged alone, but this website has established that the principal will also face the music soon.
Arbitrator Coen Havenga ruled that Khoza should be dismissed summarily for raping the learner allegedly along with the principal a number of times.
Khoza and the principal allegedly started raping the learner in 2016 when she was 13 and in Grade 8.
She testified via CCTV that they continued to rape her the next year when she was in Grade 9.
The girl detailed that they would take turns raping her in the principal’s office. Describing the pair as friends, she said one often took videos and pictures while the other raped her. They used to give her what she believed was a morning after pill, she testified.
The learner further testified that she did not tell anyone earlier out of fear.
The secret became too much for her and she became suicidal.
That was when she opened up to her stepfather in 2018.
Havenga heard that the stepfather took her to the Dobsonville police, where her statement was taken.
The police took her to the clinic and later to the Teddy Bear Clinic, she testified.
She only had one session with a social worker at the clinic due to transport problems.
Khoza, who remained on the job until last week, denied raping the learner.
He sought to convince Havenga that she was a chronic liar. He could not tell why the girl would target him with false accusations out of all male teachers at the school. The principal also denied the rape allegations.
He also could also not say why the girl would want to falsely accuse him.
In the end, Havenga decided the case on the balance of probabilities which version to accept.
He found the girl’s version probable.
“I find Khoza’s version that the complainant for some unknown reason decided to falsely accuse him, improbable,” Havenga said.
“He failed to present any substantial evidence that would prove a fabrication.
“He merely made unsupported allegations in that respect. I find it highly improbable that such a young child would fabricate such an elaborate version, and then randomly choose Khoza to accuse him of rape, while he did not even teach her. I find it improbable that a fabricated version would even involve the principal,” added Havenga.
The schoolgirl’s evidence, on the other hand, was sound.
“The complainant was consistent in her testimony. “She did not contradict herself,” Havenga said. She came across as a reliable witness.
“Her emotional testimony never appeared to be feinted.
“She described in detail how pictures and videos were taken, where she was raped, that condoms were not used, that she was given a pill to swallow afterwards and how she was threatened to keep her silent.”
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