Fatal teen stabbing 'could have been prevented' if school addressed bullying incident

The fatal stabbing of a grade eight pupil at Oakdale Secondary School in Ennerdale, Johannesburg, could have been prevented. 

This is according to the sister of a friend of Siyanda Malinga, who was stabbed outside the school gate on Thursday morning after getting off a bus.

Kamvelihle Ntshingwa said the problem allegedly started on Monday when her younger brother told their mother about a bullying incident a fight at the school. 

“There are always fights at this school and we told my younger brother that if something happens to him he must let us know at home so that we can deal with it,” she said. 

Her brother alleged bullies had demanded R5, threatening if they did not have it by Friday “all hell would break loose” and the amount would be increased to R25.

“On Tuesday my mother went to the school to address the matter with the teachers and urge them to deal with the problem.”

The school deputy principal called the alleged bullies to her office and “addressed them” in her mother's presence.

Ntshingwa said her mother felt like this was a small problem to the teachers.

On Wednesday, the alleged bullies went to Malinga and her brother's class and said  they were not afraid of Ntshingwa's mother. 

She said the “boys fought back and managed to overcome the alleged bully and his friends”.

The boys were served with suspension letters and told to call their parents. “My mom was so angry on Thursday that she got inside the bus of the schoolchildren — insisting she needed to deal with the issue as it was getting serious.” 

When they arrived at the school they were met by a group of teenage boys, some of whom were from other schools in the area. 

“Those boys [the alleged bullies] recruited their friends from other schools and they were waiting for them on Thursday. My brother said he exited the bus through the window.

“They had everything — they came to fight. That's how Siyanda got stabbed because they were exiting through the windows. They were attacked inside the bus,” Ntshingwa said. 

One of the parents gathered outside the school gate on Friday said the problem at the school was a shortage of teachers, with pupils not spending much time learning.

Jacqueline Molema said children, especially those in the lower grades, spend most of their time roaming around. “They are sitting there and then the other children that have been here for a long time go to the new ones and bully them and ask them for money and if they don't give them any the bullying starts,” she said. 

She said more security and teachers were needed at the school.

“I think if every child is in their classroom then is better. We can be able to control the children during break. We only have one patroller and he can't leave the gate. There are children who are coming from outside that bring weapons here and give them through the fence and searching them doesn't help,” she added. 

A spokesperson for the Malinga family, Jabulile Tshabalala, said the 14-year-old boy's mother died in October 2022 and he was living with his unemployed father and four siblings in Kokotela informal settlement in Lawley. 

“We lost a boy at school after being attacked when he got off the bus and we want justice for Siyanda and any help we could get to bury him in a dignified manner,” she said. 

She added that the schoolteachers did everything they could to help Malinga. One of the teachers transported him and another teenage boy to hospital. 

Malinga died on the way to the hospital and the other boy survived.

“He was a jolly boy — I don't understand why they stabbed him. Whenever one asked him to do something he would do it without hesitating. He was never grumpy,” said Tshabalala.

Gauteng education MEC Matome Chiloane visited the school on Friday morning to ascertain what led to the stabbing incident. He also addressed the parents about the issue of the shortage of teachers, classes and the safety of the pupils. 

Chiloane said teachers did everything they could to quell the fight inside the school. He commended the teachers for taking the stabbed children to hospital. 

He added the department would deploy 10 security guards who would work in shifts to safeguard the school until the community was satisfied it was safe.

“We are also going to put in a new method including dogs now that will guard our school. You know dogs are quicker if there is a problem they can alert us,” he said.

He told parents the dogs would only patrol during the evening, adding that patrollers and community wardens would be deployed in the area. 

Matome said the department was setting up a satellite school in Lawley and would move some of the pupils there. 

Gauteng police spokesperson Lt-Col Mavela Masondo said an 18-year-old suspect had been arrested and charged with murder.

“He is expected to appear before the Lenasia magistrate's court on Monday. More suspects might be arrested as the police investigation is continuing,” he said. 

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