FAMILY members say they want justice for their son, who killed himself on Tuesday, 16 August.
They claimed that a teacher from PJ Simelane Secondary School in Dobsonville, Soweto, allegedly pushed him to do this after making fun of his sexuality.
The family told Daily Sun that 15-year-old Tiro Moalusi never had a problem with his sexuality and when his teacher allegedly called him “ngwanyana abuti”, it left him broken. Kids laughed at him and when he confronted the teacher, she apparently laughed and left. This is allegedly when he decided to kill himself.
His aunt Nokthula Moalusi (36) from Tshepisong, Mogale City, said Tiro usually visited her on weekends, so it was odd for him to come during the week.
“I didn’t notice anything wrong. We even walked to the spaza shop to buy bread,” said Nokthula.
She said when they came back, Tiro broke down and told her that he could see his sexuality was going to be a problem for many people going forward. She said he told her his teacher had made fun of him.
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“I tried to comfort him,” she said, adding that Tiro then started having cramps and feeling nauseous.
“While in the bathroom, he started screaming. I went in and found him weak, with two plastic bags of what seemed like rat poison.
“I still don’t know when he took it but I’m assuming it was when he came back from school,” she added.
He was rushed to Leratong Hospital, where he was certified dead on arrival.
Nokthula and some community members went to the school to talk to the principal and teacher, but couldn’t find them.
“We asked his classmates about the incident and they told us that the teacher did make fun of him. And when he told her that he didn’t like what she did, she laughed,” claimed Nokthula.
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She further said his friends revealed that after school, Tiro told them he loved them and that they would never see him again.
Tiro’s mum Smangele Moalusi (34) said: “I can’t describe the pain I’m going through. I hope we’ll find answers on what’s next regarding this teacher.”
The family is asking SunReaders for help to bury Tiro and they are yet to open a case.
At the time of publishing, the Gauteng Department of Education had not yet responded to our queries.
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