Page 16 - You - South Africa (February 2020)

‘NO ADULT
TOP: Wreaths laid out at the entrance
of Parktown Boys’ High School after the
death of learner Enock Mpianzi (ABOVE)
while on a school camp.
TS official website describes it as one
oftheoldestschoolsinJohannesburg,
an institution “consistently rated as
among the best-performing schools
in South Africa as well as in Africa”.
But after Enock Mpianzi’s drown-
ing, it’s a school in crisis. Allegations
I of lies, cover-ups and instructions to
remain silent have shrouded Parktown
Boys’Highinacloudofcontroversythat
shows no sign of lifting.
Thisisbynomeansthefirstscandalto
hit the school. In 2018, assistant water
polo coach Collan Rex was jailed for 23
yearson144chargesofsexualassaultin-
volving 17 boys. And now, as the fallout
afterEnock’sdeathcontinuesunabated,
there are even calls for the century-old
school to close its doors.
WhathappenedontheCrocodileRiver
at the start of the new school year is the
subject of a high-level investigation by
the Gauteng education department,
which has appointed an independent
law firm to probe what happened on that
ill-fated orientation camp.
16 | 6 FEBRUARY 2020 you.co.za
IN SIGHT’
The education department comes down
hard on Parktown Boys’ High after shocking
claims emerge in the Enock Mpianzi tragedy
BY SIYABUSWA TSEWU
“It would appear during the water ac-
tivity something went horribly wrong,”
Gauteng education MEC Panyaza Lesufi
has said in a statement.
Of that there’s no doubt. A harrowing
account from one of the boys on the
camp with 13-year-old Enock tells of
chaos and panic during an exercise at
Nyati Bush and Riverbreak Lodge near
Brits in North West province that Janu-
ary day.
“I felt like I was going to die,” Lizo*, who
was on Enock’s team, told Radio 702.
He said boys had been instructed to
build a stretcher that had to be trans-
ported on a section of the river – flowing
fast from recent rains – as a makeshift
raft. The children weren’t given life vests,
he claimed.
Their raft came apart in the strong cur-
rent, and Lizo saw Enock struggling in
the water.
“I grabbed a pole and tried to pass it to
Enock. But I couldn’t reach him – the
river swept him away. Some of the boys
started screaming for help as they also
saw Enock struggle. But there was no
adult in sight.”
Camp facilitators were waiting further
downstream and fished the boys out of
the water, he said.
When they reached the camp hall, the
first roll call of the trip was done, Lizo
said.
“Solly*, my friend, raised his arm when
Enock’s name was called. He was asked
by the roll-caller if he was Enock.”
The boy answered “no”, meaning to
alert the roll-caller to Enock’s absence
but the man moved on to the next name.
“The person doing the roll call said he
thought Enock didn’t come to camp.”
Lizo said he was repeatedly ignored
when he tried to raise the alarm and it
was only on his fifth attempt – the fol-
lowing day – that he was able to convince
a teacher that Enock was missing and
the search began.