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Parents protest outside Milnerton High School in Cape Town on Wednesday after a video of a violent attack on several pupils by their peers went viral on social media.
- SA Rugby president Mark Alexander has condemned the brutal bullying incident at Milnerton High School.
- After one alleged perpetrator was linked to schools rugby, Alexander said bullying went against rugby’s values of “discipline, humility, and empathy”.
- Parents protested at the school on Wednesday, demanding anti-bullying reforms.
SA Rugby president Mark Alexander has spoken out against a shocking bullying incident at Milnerton High School that went viral on social media, involving a Grade 10 pupil being beaten by several peers.
The involvement of a pupil who has represented South Africa in school rugby drew Alexander’s swift condemnation, highlighting that bullying has no place in rugby or society.
The condemnation comes after the video of the incident went viral on social media.
The footage showed a Grade 10 pupil being lashed with a hosepipe, a belt, a hockey stick, and a wooden stick, as he pleaded for the beating to stop.
It was further reported that nine other boys had suffered the same fate and were bruised and injured, among them a cancer survivor.
According to Alexander, one of the perpetrators has represented South Africa nationally in schools rugby.
He stated that people who engage in bullying were “not welcome in the sport”.
Alexander said: “This type of behaviour has no place in society and would never be tolerated in a rugby environment.”
He said it was unfortunate and unfair that a schoolyard incident had been linked to the sport of rugby.
Alexander said:
But we take this opportunity to underline rugby’s values. Our sport teaches discipline, humility, and empathy – values that are foundational to a child’s development and to the spirit of our sport.
“We welcome the opportunity to work with the school regarding this unacceptable behaviour, but the matter falls under the jurisdiction of the education department.”
READ | Chaos at Milnerton High as police use stun grenades on protesting parents
He expressed confidence that the school and the department would take the sternest possible view once all the facts had been established.
“Individuals who engage in bullying are not welcome in our sport, which prides itself on respect and integrity, regardless of its physical nature. I urge all young men and women aspiring to build a future in rugby to heed this warning: bullying is totally unacceptable.”
Meanwhile, outraged parents have called for immediate action, protesting outside the school and demanding stricter measures to curb such behaviour in educational institutions.
They called for reforms on bullying and urged the school to tighten its grip on such incidents.
