A 15-year-old South African schoolgirl has reportedly died by suicide after being bullied by fellow pupils at school.
The victim, Lufuno Mavhungu Tshirenzheni from Thulamela Municipality, Limpopo, took her life by overdosing on prescription pills on Monday, April 12, Limpopo provincial police said.
In a video of the bullying incident, which has since gone viral on social media since Tuesday, Lufuno of Mbilwi Secondary School in the Vhembe East education district was seen been beaten by another Grade 10 pupil, who repeatedly slapped her while other schoolgirls cheered on and recorded the scene.
One of students signals the other to move while she got closer to the victim to slap Lufuno countless times. The victim grabs the pupil who was assaulting her in an attempt to block the blows.
Other pupils can be heard in the background cheering the alleged perpetrator, with no intervention from any one around.
This girl Lufuno was bullied yesterday at mbilwi high school and she later committed suicide after the incident. #JusticeForLufuno pic.twitter.com/pplCvwR4Re
— Man’s NOT Barry Roux (@AdvoBarryRoux) April 13, 2021
Part 2 of the video. So Candy Continued even when others tried stopping her ? She felt like a hero. This is Sad 🥺😩#JusticeForLufuno pic.twitter.com/6lcQUWGBzg
— MuFuNwa♥️ (@RasisiTakie) April 13, 2021
Following this, the tortured teen, reportedly, locked herself away in her room once she returned home from school. She got hold of a large quantity of prescription medication, purposefully overdosing on the unspecified tablets.
Lufuno was then rushed to the hospital, but unfortunately, medics pronounced her dead on arrival. The heart-wrenching details were confirmed by Limpopo Police Brigadier, Motlafela Mojapelo, and a police inquest docket has been opened.
Meanwhile, Limpopo Education spokesperson, Tidimalo Chuene confirmed the incident on Tuesday, April 13.
Chuene stated;
The victimised pupil is reported to have since passed away. However, the cause of death is unknown. The department is awaiting a formal report on the cause from the relevant authorities.
On his part, Department of Social Development’s Spokesperson, Witness Tiva, said the department has dispatched a team of social workers to Mbilwi Secondary School and to the family of the girl.
He explained;
Social workers are attending to the case after details of the incident went viral on social media. The video depicts a learner attacking her fellow learner, in full view of other learners. The MEC for Social Development, Nkakareng Rakgoale, has condemned the incident saying that bullying is one of the social ills that are experienced in many communities and it needs to be confronted head-on.
We are very disappointed to learn about this bullying incident that ended in tragedy. We want to see these young boys and girls support each other at school, because they are there to learn.
