THE WOMAN who exposed an allegedly brutal initiation at Parktown Boys High fears so much for her safety that she arrived in court this morning with a bodyguard.
Pene Kimber, the mother of a child who was assaulted during initiation, arrived at the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court with the bodyguard and a few supporters this morning.
Kimber had to get a bodyguard after several parents became angry that she had exposed the initiation of boys to the press and carried through on charges she laid in February after she removed her son from the school.
She received death threats and her car tyres were slashed earlier this year.
None of the other Grade 11 boys who were subjected to the same initiation ceremony were prepared to make statements against the matric boys.
The 12 Parktown Boys were expected to be in court this afternoon on charges of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm.
They did not appear in the morning as previously planned, as they were writing maths and Afrikaans prelim exams today.
Last week, police arrived at the school after senior prosecutor John Metswanere decided that the boys should be formally charged.
The Grade 11 boys in Druce Hall were allegedly lined up naked in the middle of the night by 11 matrics.
It is alleged that they were made to put Deep Heat on their genitals and got smacked on their backsides with cricket bats, hockey sticks and golf clubs. Then the head boy allegedly whipped the boys with a cricket bat until he drew blood.
Kimber was horrified when she saw her son's bruises the following weekend and spoke out about it.
When The Star broke the story in February, many parents came forward, telling similar stories about violent initiations.
But several other current and past parents and old boys have stuck by the school, accusing The Star of sensationalism.
Headmaster Tom Clarke said last week that he felt Kimber was being vindictive and the school had done everything it could to punish and support the pupils after the incident.
No comments:
Post a Comment