WHEN Asanda Thethwayo had enough of being bullied, she allegedly decided to escape by cutting her life short.
The 15-year-old grade 10 pupil at Isipingo Secondary School in Durban died weeks after swallowing a cocktail of tablets and drinking paraffin.
It alleged that Asanda was a victim of intense bullying by her schoolmates for over a year.
They teased her and made negative comments about her appearance, particularly her mouth and teeth.
Her uncle, Nkanyiso, said they heard the alleged bully removed Asanda’s mask, took a photo and circulated it.
He said they believed that triggered her to take her own life.
“She had recently been hinting that she was bullied but we did not pay attention.
“She said she was glad Covid-19 came because she now wore a mask to stop bullies.
“We thought she was joking. She said she didn’t eat during break time because they teased her when she removed her mask.”
Nkanyiso said his niece was a quiet child who loved books.
“On 3 May, we found her lying on the floor in her bedroom with containers of pills and paraffin bottles lying next to her,” he said.
She was admitted to hospital, but died two weeks later.
He said they reported the matter to the school while Asanda was admitted. However, they were not happy with the findings.
“They told us there was no bullying but this is not true because Asanda was bullied for a year.”
He said they wanted the Department of Education to intervene.
KZN’s Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) education portfolio committee member Mntomuhle Khawula called on MEC Kwazi Mshengu to investigate the incident. And in particular, claims that one of the alleged perpetrators was accepted at Isipingo despite leaving a previous school due to charges of bullying.
At the time of going to print, Daily Sun had not yet received comment from the department.
