An Eastern Cape pupil has been burnt by acid at school. The victim is Lufezile Capa, 14, from Xolani Senior Secondary School in Zwelitsha’s Zone6.
According to the teen, the incident happened on September 15.
He and a group of classmates were sitting unattended in an empty classroom playing cards.
Lufezile, who had been in the back row of the classroom, said a classmate entered the room holding a syringe filled with a clear liquid.
After spraying some of the liquid on one pupil, burning the blazer sleeve through to the pupil’s skin, the pupil then sprayed the acid on another pupil, hitting her on the back of her head and on her thighs.
As his fellow pupils screamed, Lufezile said the acid hit his face, causing him to also scream in pain.
“I ran to the tap because it felt like my skin was on fire,” the teenager said yesterday.
“This boy came to me while I was at the tap and I asked him to take me to the staff room. The teachers asked him what happened and he told them that I had been sprayed with a chemical. The principal rushed me to hospital.”
Lufezile was rushed to Bhisho Hospital where he was treated for his burns. The acid that hit his forehead has affected his right eye, giving him hazy vision.
The eye is also sensitive to light.
“If the light is too bright then I can’t see and when I go out in the sun I have to wear sunglasses,” Lufezile said.
His father, Ntsikelelo Mnyathaza, said the explanation received from the school was not sufficient.
“The school governing body called me to a meeting and told me that this boy took the acid off the table while the teacher was writing on the board but I don’t believe that.
“ I think the lab had been left open negligently and they are trying to cover that up,” Mnyathaza said.
“And no action was taken against that boy. He’s still at school and his life has not changed even after he did this. I need the school to answer because my son’s life will never be the same again.”
A case of assault with intent to do grievous body harm was opened with the Zwelitsha police station.
When the Daily Dispatch visited the school yesterday, the team was chased off the school grounds by a group of angry staff members who accused the paper of trespassing.
The staff refused to comment.
Education department spokesman Malibongwe Mtima said an investigation had been launched.
“What we immediately discovered is that the child had acted negligently because the teacher had been writing notes on the board, with her back turned towards the class, when the pupil used a syringe to soak up the acid then went to the class next door where he sprayed it on the kids,” Mtima said.
“The investigation is still under way and no disciplinary action has yet been taken against anyone.
“We are still awaiting the outcome of the investigation.” — zisandan@dispatch.co.za
Teen’s eye injured by acid spray
According to the teen, the incident happened on September 15.
He and a group of classmates were sitting unattended in an empty classroom playing cards.
Lufezile, who had been in the back row of the classroom, said a classmate entered the room holding a syringe filled with a clear liquid.
After spraying some of the liquid on one pupil, burning the blazer sleeve through to the pupil’s skin, the pupil then sprayed the acid on another pupil, hitting her on the back of her head and on her thighs.
As his fellow pupils screamed, Lufezile said the acid hit his face, causing him to also scream in pain.
“I ran to the tap because it felt like my skin was on fire,” the teenager said yesterday.
“This boy came to me while I was at the tap and I asked him to take me to the staff room. The teachers asked him what happened and he told them that I had been sprayed with a chemical. The principal rushed me to hospital.”
Lufezile was rushed to Bhisho Hospital where he was treated for his burns. The acid that hit his forehead has affected his right eye, giving him hazy vision.
The eye is also sensitive to light.
“If the light is too bright then I can’t see and when I go out in the sun I have to wear sunglasses,” Lufezile said.
His father, Ntsikelelo Mnyathaza, said the explanation received from the school was not sufficient.
“The school governing body called me to a meeting and told me that this boy took the acid off the table while the teacher was writing on the board but I don’t believe that.
“ I think the lab had been left open negligently and they are trying to cover that up,” Mnyathaza said.
“And no action was taken against that boy. He’s still at school and his life has not changed even after he did this. I need the school to answer because my son’s life will never be the same again.”
A case of assault with intent to do grievous body harm was opened with the Zwelitsha police station.
When the Daily Dispatch visited the school yesterday, the team was chased off the school grounds by a group of angry staff members who accused the paper of trespassing.
The staff refused to comment.
Education department spokesman Malibongwe Mtima said an investigation had been launched.
“What we immediately discovered is that the child had acted negligently because the teacher had been writing notes on the board, with her back turned towards the class, when the pupil used a syringe to soak up the acid then went to the class next door where he sprayed it on the kids,” Mtima said.
“The investigation is still under way and no disciplinary action has yet been taken against anyone.
“We are still awaiting the outcome of the investigation.” — zisandan@dispatch.co.za
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