A 52- year-old Bolobedu teacher attached to Morutji Primary School has been arrested for allegedly raping a 13-year-old learner of the same school.
Morutji Primary School teacher Andrew Mathipa was arrested on Monday, 12 August at school, after the minor’s mother who is a school SGB opened a rape case.
It is said that the rape-accused teacher who teaches grade 6 at the same school where the victim goes, called her to his office where he requested her Facebook account details and reached out to her in the evening requesting contact numbers, and further proposed.
According to the learner who spoke with the publication but can’t be named for fear of victimisation, said after he proposed to her, he would call her every day at school to give her either R10 to R20.
“He told me that he loves and wants to make me his wife as he doesn’t love his wife anymore and he regularly requested me to his office in the absentia of his colleagues and touched me on my private parts,” the minor said.
On Sunday, 4 August, he requested to meet the victim at Morutjie village Fourway and the minor came with her friends and called her to tell her friends to go away.
After chasing her friends away, the teacher drove with the learner to Madumane soccer ground, where he raped her in a car and gave her R50, to buy her silence.
“When we arrived at the soccer ground, he started touching and kissing me and then raped me and further said if I tell anyone, he will hurt me badly,” the victim said.
After the rape ordeal, the victim started to ignore the teacher and that angered him and subsequently blocked her.
On Friday, 09 August, he unblocked her and demanded to see her and the victim did not pitch up, and sent her countless WhatsApp texts and further tried to call her and that’s when the parent discovered and confronted the victim until she opened up.
The rape suspect teacher will appear before Bolobedu Magistrate’s Court on Monday, 19 for the second time to apply for bail.
The Department of Education in Limpopo has yet to respond to our media queries in times of publication.
Source: Tzaneen Voice
