Thabo Mbeki lashes Panyaza Lesufi over Pretoria Girls debacle

15 October 2024

Last week former President Thabo Mbeki sent a scathing 13-page letter to Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi and Education MEC Matome Chiloane concerning their handling of the recent “racism” scandal at Pretoria High School for Girls.

In July of this year, twelve white Matric girls at the school were suspended after being accused of expressing racist views in a WhatsApp group. Following a disciplinary hearing chaired by an independent advocate, all twelve girls were found not guilty of the charges levelled against them.

In addition to the suspension of the twelve white learners, the Gauteng Department of Education (“GDE”) suspended the school’s Principal, Mrs Erasmus, and transferred the school’s Deputy Principal, Mrs Schoombie to work from the District Office.

Disturbed by reports of how the matter was being handled, former President Mbeki became involved at the school, meeting with both the School Governing Body and with departmental officials. Last week, former President Mbeki published his views on the matter, as expressed in his letter to Premier Lesufi.

In his letter, former President Mbeki noted that the decisions to suspend and charge both the twelve white learners and the principal were “taken before any investigation was carried out to establish that there was at least prima facie evidence to suggest that there was substance to the allegations made.” He states that “Obviously, the GDE officials immediately bought lock, stock and barrel into the story told by the so-called ‘aggrieved learners’.”

Former President Mbeki highlighted a number of egregious instances of abuse of power that the GDE has engaged in. These include:

- The actions of a GDE official who addressed a School Assembly on 19 July 2024. The official criticised the 12 members of the chat group for their racism and asked rhetorical questions about their possible suspension or expulsion, and the removal from their positions of those who were prefects. The audience of learners responded to all this with loud cheers.

- The decision by GDE officials to humiliate the Principal by obliging her to apologise to the Assembly of learners. They obliged her to say:

“Firstly, I would like to apologise to everyone who has been affected by the recent events and how things have unfolded… This matter has affected us all and each of us in our own way. I would like to apologise if I have not dealt with things in the manner in which they should have been dealt… I sincerely apologise to each and every one of you for how you are feeling right now.”

- President Mbeki cited a school newsletter in which a GDE official, Mr Andries Nkadimeng, made the absurd statement that “Issues of discrimination and issues of racism will not be tolerated by the GDE, whether there is tangible evidence or not.”

President Mbeki responded by saying that he “strongly suggests that the GDE should examine how this ‘zero-tolerance’ expresses itself.”

- The comments by the GDE’s spokesman, Mr Steve Mabona, who falsely stated during an interview on Newzroom Afrika that the disciplinary hearing involving the twelve white learners “did not say anything on racism”. Former President Mbeki states that:

“Charges 1and 2 against the 12-person chat group, are about racism and hate speech. The DC found that there was nothing in the chat group comments and evidence presented to the DC which substantiated the charges of racism and hate speech! It is therefore impossible to understand how Mr Mabona comes to the conclusion that the finding that there was no racism in the chat group discussion amounts to saying nothing about racism!

Mr Mabona also says that the DC “only focused on bullying, violence, those allegations of physical violence as well as the disruptive nature of the behaviour of learners…

There is no mention in the DC Ruling on any of the issues claimed by Mr Mabona.

Once more, it is impossible to understand how Mr Mabona came to manufacture this additional and absolute fabrication!

Of course, it is possible to understand all this as arising from the effort by Mr Mabona to create what he believes would be a credible explanation for the initiation of the special investigation authorised by MEC Chiloane after the SGB DC found the 12 learners ‘not guilty’.”

Former President Mbeki mentioned that he has personally inspected the contents of the relevant WhatsApp conversation and can find no evidence of racism:

“We ourselves have also closely studied the comments made by the chat group, independently to determine whether these constituted manifestations of racism and hate speech.

Our own firm conclusion is that there is no such manifestation in the said comments. We therefore fully agree with the Ruling of the SGB DC on the matter of the 12 learners in the chat group.”

Former President Mbeki further states that “It seems, for some reason, that the GDE is very determined at all costs to smear the PHSG with the charge of racism.”

Former President Mbeki expressed dismay at the bullying and harassment which the principal had been subjected to:

“On 18 July 2024, a group of learners accosted the Principal, Mrs Erasmus, as she was walking inside the grounds of the PHSG, in the presence of a GDE official. They screamed at her, demanding “We want change”, showing absolutely no respect for her both as the Principal and a parent.

No action was taken to reprimand the learners concerned, precisely to reinforce respect for a Member of the School Management as senior as the Principal, and thus avoid the eventuality of the School falling victim to anarchy or ungovernability.

This situation was made worse by obliging the same Principal to appear at a School Assembly to make an unwarranted apology to the learners, some of whom had treated her with contempt the previous day.

The question arises – what did the GDE seek to achieve by treating the very Head of the School in this shameful and humiliating manner?”

Former President Mbeki was equally critical of the GDE’s decision to move the Deputy Principal to the District Office:

“There is also the matter of the suspension of the Deputy Principal and her transfer to District Offices of the GDE, there to work as an administrator / bureaucrat.

We are talking here of a senior teacher of Physical Science with 20 years of experience in this vitally important subject in our country, even as the learners were preparing to write their Matriculation examination.

Is this how we should treat our ‘valued partners in the collegial task to bring up the New Citizen’?”

Former President Mbeki concludes as follows:

Accordingly, we hold the unequivocal view that the GDE erred in acting against the persons concerned on the basis of the false allegation that the chat group made comments which amounted to racism and hate speech.

Accordingly, we propose that the GDE must, without delay:

- terminate the Principal’s suspension and allow her to return to her job at the PHSG;

- allow the Deputy Principal to return with immediate effect to her job at the PHSG;

- address the School Assembly to explain its actions; and,

- reconsider halting the investigation instituted by the GDE which we understand is currently underway.

“We hope that the GDE will draw honest conclusions from this unfortunate episode of the ’12-person learner chat group’ and thus improve the manner in which it discharges its role of managing and leading our school system, as defined by law.”

The above remarks by former President Mbeki are a devastating indictment on the Gauteng Department of Education as well as MEC Chiloane and Premier Lesufi.

The Democratic Alliance calls for the GDE to:

- Immediately terminate the suspension of the principal, Mrs Erasmus

- Immediately reinstate the deputy principal, Mrs Schoombie, to her position

- Immediately terminate the fishing expedition of a sham “investigation” which is currently being undertaken by a law firm into whether there is a “culture of racism” at the school.

In addition, the Premier and MEC must deliver written apologies to each of the 12 girls as well as the principal and deputy principal.

Issued by Sergio Isa Dos Santos, DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Education, 15 October 2024