Crime

PIGG’S PEAK – Two Form V pupils at Peak Central High sustained serious injuries allegedly after being severely assaulted by police officers during an interrogation at the Pigg’s Peak Police Station on October 3, 2025.

The interrogation was in connection with a case of a stolen cell phone from a fellow pupil earlier in July.

A teacher from Peak Central High, who noticed the Form V pupil limping, exposed the alleged incident. The pupil informed her that he and another pupil, accused of stealing the phone at a career expo, had been assaulted by the police.

The pupil had reportedly admitted to stealing the cell phone but claimed it was subsequently stolen from them after they placed it in a bag.

The teacher suspects the police’s disbelief over the second theft led to the alleged assault.

"I went to the police station on the same day of the assault to ask why they assaulted the pupil, and they denied it," the teacher said. She requested a police form to take the pupil to hospital to confirm the injuries.

The hospital informed the teacher that the pupil had sustained a fracture in his leg and placed it in a cast. The teacher and the head teacher then reported the medical results to the police.

"We were told that there was nothing they could assist us with, and I was advised to go and make a statement, which is something that I did," she stated. The school has been following up with the Pigg’s Peak assistant station commander, who advised them that the case is now with their legal team.

The teacher alleged that the police picked the pupils from the school on a day they were not writing their external examinations.

She further alleged that during the assault, the police took turns beating the pupils while forcing them to lie on a bench and handcuffing them with chains on their waist.

Regarding the second pupil, who did not sustain a fracture, the teacher alleged they gathered that the police avoided severe assault because his parents are head teachers at two different schools in Pigg’s Peak.

The incident has deeply affected the Form V pupil, who had studied hard for his exams. He reportedly suffers from severe pain and kidney issues and is frequently taken to the hospital.

"He is taken to the hospital frequently, and he would be lucky if he is going to obtain any credit in his final examinations looking at what he is going through," the teacher lamented, adding that the family is struggling to pay the medical bills.

Peak Central High Head Teacher Xolisile Nhleko expressed her disappointment, noting that the injured pupil now has to be carried to the examination rooms.

Nhleko stated that she had asked the police to at least wait for the pupil to finish his final examinations, especially since the pupil’s parents had offered to compensate the stolen cell phone.

Despite some of the pupil’s family members being against the school opening a case against the police, Nhleko stated she would not allow such a ‘wrong thing to happen’ as it is the pupil’s future that is being destroyed, adding there is no need for "tibi tendlu" (hiding family secrets).

Nhleko confirmed seeing the police at the school a day before the alleged assault, where they met with the deputy head teacher as she was occupied with the final examinations.

When reached for comment, the Deputy Police Information and Communications Officer Assistant, Nosipho Mnguni, confirmed that the incident was reported to the police and that investigations had been launched to establish the facts of the matter.

One of the pupils in his hospital bed while his fractured leg was put in a cast.

The other pupil is in crutches, also with a leg injury. (Pics: Mnelisi Dlamini and courtesy)