By Kaya 959 Reporter
UPDATE: Education officials have clarified that the workers were not suspended.
Five workers have been asked to stay at home after a six-year-old girl was raped in the toilets of a Gauteng primary school.
Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi visited the school where he said the workers would not return to work until they were cleared by expert reports which included an identity parade.
The five are four general assistants and a volunteer.
It is alleged that the Grade 1 learner had gone to the toilet where she was allegedly accosted by a general assistant at the school who raped her last week. The young girl told her mother what had happened and she reported it to the school.
Lesufi said the volunteer had not returned to the school since the incident.
He said his office has received a preliminary report.
READ: Police slammed for ‘manhandling’ Gauteng schoolgirl
Child’s mother heartbroken
Counsellors have been deployed to the school to offer psycho-social support to both the girl and her family.
“We condemn any actions which place our learners in danger and will continue to call on the police to act swiftly on such matters so that we can continue to ensure that our schools are safe for all learners,” Lesufi said.
The child’s mother told Pretoria News that she was heartbroken.
“I feel like taking my own life when I think about what happened to my daughter. I ask myself why did the perpetrator choose to rape a minor and not an elder like me,” she said.
The child told her mother that the man had been wearing a mask covering his nose and mouth but she identified him as one of the general workers at the school. Soshanguve police are investigating further.
The rape sparked outrage in the community with parents arranging a march to the school.
ActionSA has called for Lesufi to suspend the principal.
“Schools are supposed to be safe havens for our children. Incidents such as the rape of a child at school cannot be treated as business as usual. ActionSA will closely monitor the events at this school and fight for the safety of our children,” ActionSA’s Abel Tau said.
