Following the kidnapping of a grade 5 student at E.P. Baumann Primary School in Mayfair last week, the Gauteng Department of Education took action. The Department issued an immediate instruction that all Covid-19 screenings and sanitising of pupils need to take place inside school premises.
The Mayfair pupil was standing in a queue waiting to be screened when she was kidnapped by armed men. There is still no new news regarding this case, and the child is still missing.
“In a meeting which we held today (Friday), with our SGB associations, we agreed that all screening and scanning procedures must be done inside the school premises with immediate effect,” said Panyaza Lesufi, Gauteng Education MEC.
Another attempted kidnapping happened on the same day as new rule was decided
An 18-year-old student from Sandringham High School in Johannesburg managed to escape an attempted kidnapping.
A spokesperson for the Department of Basic Education in Gauteng, Steve Mabona, explained what happened:
“The incident is alleged to have taken place on Friday morning, near Lyndhurst Primary School when she was walking to school. According to information at our disposal, a white Chevrolet sedan with four male occupants reportedly drove towards her and a one-armed male allegedly grabbed her into the vehicle.
“She reportedly fought the armed man off and screamed, which alerted bystanders and scared the suspects into fleeing the scene. A staff member, who happened to pass the location where the incident took place, safely accompanied her to school. The matter was reported to the Sandringham Police Station, and she received trauma counselling from our Psycho-Social Unit.”