A 16-year-old schoolboy has been suspended after allegedly drugging seven of his fellow pupils and leading them to a man who raped them at gunpoint. The victims, who were reportedly aged between 10 and 13, were severely traumatised by the ordeal, which has rocked the community of Johannesburg in South Africa. The horrific attacks appalled even hardened detectives in the crime-ridden country where 76 people are murdered every day and 125 women are raped.
South African Police confirmed that a 31-year-old man had been arrested for rape, and the Gauteng Education Department said a 16-year-old pupil had been suspended. Education chief Matome Chiloane described what happened to the pupils from Khomanani Primary School in Diepkloof, Soweto, on September 1 as “unspeakable”.
Department spokesperson Steve Mabona said: “Preliminary reports indicate the instigating Grade 7 boy learner allegedly stole a bottle of cold drink from a local shop.
“It is then alleged that the learner drugged the drink and gave it to seven boy learners to consume, then took them to an adult who raped them at gunpoint.”
“The adult perpetrator has since been arrested after a parent of one of the boys reported it and police are investigating further details about this incident,” he said.
Mr Mabona added that the school had suspended the 16-year-old accused of orchestrating the mass rape and said he would face a disciplinary hearing on September 17.
However, both the Education Department and the South African Police confirmed that the teenager had not been arrested for his alleged part in the crimes.
A police spokesperson said: “Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences detectives are investigating a case where allegedly seven boys have been raped.
“The boys are aged between 10 and 13 and were allegedly raped by a 31-year-old man who was arrested on September 6 but has not yet appeared before court.
“After consultation with the National Police Authority, he was released from custody pending further investigations in consultation with police forensic social workers. We will not share details of the case.”
Psychosocial experts have been brought in to help the seven schoolboys, alongside the Teddy Bear Clinic, which supports sexually abused children.
Education chief Mr Chiloane added: “Such an unspeakable act should never happen to any learner and we sympathise dearly with the affected learners and families. This incident is a reminder of the importance of our collective duty to ensure the safety of children in and outside of school and we are providing our full support.”
South Africa has a huge child rape crisis, with a Parliamentary question revealing that between 2018 and 2024, there were 106,000 child rape cases reported to the police. Abuse experts believe that, taken alongside unreported cases, the figure would be far higher. In the year 2022/23, it was said that 38.3% of the offences carried out on children were rape.
Support group Solidarity Helping Hand said in an annual report that about 60 cases of child rape are reported in South Africa every day, but estimates 88% more go unreported. They said that means, according to their figures, 530 children are raped every day – one rape every three minutes – and with a severe shortage of social workers to help them.