Delay in trial of teacher accused of sexual assault

Thandokhulu High School case postponed until November

Photo of learners protesting

Learners at Thandokhulu High School demonstrated in August. Archive photo: Ashraf Hendricks

By Barbara Maregele

4 October 2017

The case against a teacher accused of sexually assaulting a learner at Thandokhulu High School in Mowbray has been postponed until November.

Dressed in jeans and a checked shirt and wearing a neckbrace, Ayanda Ntuthu made a brief appearance in the dock at Wynberg Magistrates Court on Wednesday. He has been released on bail since his last court appearance on 31 August. It is alleged that Ntuthu touched a learner on his private parts during a sleepover at the school. He has also been accused of hitting another learner with a belt.

An internal investigation by the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) found Ntuthu not guilty of the allegations.

In August, learners at the school protested outside court calling for the teacher to be suspended and for the WCED to explain why he had been found not guilty.

On Wednesday, the state prosecutor told the court that the investigation was still incomplete because two more statements were needed from learners who had been writing exams and were now on school holiday.

Magistrate Gulam Bower postponed the matter until 2 November for the state to get the two statements from learners.