Spate of schoolgirl murders in Nelson Mandela Bay sparks call for collaborative action

Schools do not operate in a vacuum. It will take the combined effort of schools, parents and broader communities to ensure learner safety in Nelson Mandela Bay.

That’s the view of the Eastern Cape Department of Education, which has voiced its concern after a fourth schoolgirl was murdered in just one month in Nelson Mandela Bay.

And while violence against girls seems to be on the rise, education spokesperson Ceduma Mboxela said boys were equally vulnerable, as they were targeted by street gangs.

“It appears that gangs have declared war on our schoolchildren. Losing one is one too many, but we have seen four girls killed, some of them raped, in a short space of time. We cannot accept that.”

Mboxela was speaking just days after Michelle Ambraal, a 12-year-old girl with learning challenges from Bethelsdorp, was reportedly raped and murdered. Her mutilated body was found on Wednesday in a field halfway between her home and school.

The burnt body of Lithaliyanda Ntoni, also 12, was found in a field near Khabonqaba Street, Motherwell, after she left home to visit a nearby shop late last month. On Friday, Algoa FM reported that the Motherwell Magistrates’ Court in Gqeberha heard that Lithaliyanda’s family supported her alleged killer being released on bail.

Nine days earlier, the bodies of Ibanathi Peter (17) and Sinothando Malinga (19) were found in KwaNobuhle, Kariega. They had been raped, and their bodies set on fire.

Read more: Fourth schoolgirl found murdered in Nelson Mandela Bay

“The situation in Nelson Mandela Bay is worrying. Girls are being targeted by violent criminals, while boys are at risk of violence from gangs,” said Mboxela.

“We’ve seen this, especially in Cape Town and in Gqeberha’s northern areas. They are forced to join gangs and put themselves in harm’s way, and if they don’t join, they are targeted by the people who approached them. It is a lose-lose situation.

“For any schoolkids to be safe, there has to be a collaborative effort between the school, the police, parents and the broader community.

“A school is not an island. Kids can be safe between 8am and 3pm, but what happens when they go home? Our neighbourhoods need to become safer,” she said, adding that this would require the support of a wide range of role players.

With regards to the four recent murders in Nelson Mandela Bay, Mboxela said the department’s district office had counselling services for the teachers and pupils who knew the victims.

Safe Schools Protocol

She said Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube and (recently suspended) Police Minister Senzo Mchunu last month signed a memorandum of understanding, called the Safe Schools Protocol, which set plans in motion to ensure better collaboration between schools and the police in their communities.

This comes at a time when the South African Police Service’s annual crime reports show a rise in reported cases of certain contact crimes against children in recent years.

Between 2021/22 and 2023/24, the number of recorded child murders rose by 383, from 1,273 to 1,656. In the same period, attempted murders of children rose by 442, from 1,371 to 1,813; and cases of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm against children rose by 196, from 7,575 to 7,771. Reported sexual offences committed against children dropped by 1,542, from 23,379 to 21,837.

Read more: Attacks on children — the scourge of violent crime affecting SA’s most vulnerable

At the signing of the memorandum in Cape Town, Gwarube said the document had been in the works since last year and sought to strengthen the existing relationship between schools and local police.

The memorandum aimed to put mechanisms in place to transform schools into places of learning rather than places of “fear and trauma”.

In the memorandum, the Department of Basic Education and the SA Police Service undertook to establish safety committees at all schools that will liaise directly with their nearest police station.

Additional resources will be allocated to ensure more visible policing around schools.

Crime awareness and prevention programmes will be rolled out at schools to better educate children on the biggest challenges they face: gender-based violence, gangs, rape and drug and alcohol abuse.

Gwarube called on communities to play an active role in child safety, saying that crime and violence were often symptoms of much broader social ills outside of schools.

She said the previous financial year’s crime statistics showed an alarming increase in violence against school pupils, particularly in the Eastern Cape, Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.

Adding to Gwarube’s list, Mchunu said the illegal possession of firearms and extortion among pupils were major causes for concern that needed to be addressed urgently. DM