Thembisa Shologu
The Gauteng Department of Health is awaiting the post-mortem results following the death of a Grade 9 learner, Brian Ndlovu, at Queens High School in Johannesburg due to alleged bullying.
The incident, which happened on 31 July 2023, prompted the family to allege that another learner gave Ndlovu poison in the school's toilets before he died at the Hillbrow Clinic.
However, preliminary reports from the school security cameras found no evidence of the alleged incident. Furthermore, the learner left school in good health, and there were no prior reports of bullying by parents or school counsellors. 
School Principal Johan Lourens said the learner did not show signs of being unwell and even shared jokes with his friends during the last two periods.
"The teachers that taught him after the break did not indicate that he was not well, and the report I got from the teacher that dropped him off at home after school did not indicate that. He cracked jokes with his friends, and he was fine.
"We are upset about Brian's passing. We have lost a member of our family," said Lourens.
Lourens also said there was ongoing support through the school's in-house counselling unit for learners.
He assured that the school attended all issues brought forward by learners. 
"We handle all issues, even if they are small, to avoid the big ones. If there are cases of bullying reported to us, I can assure you and the public that we handle all issues, but we can only address issues when they are reported. 
"The problem with bullying is that sometimes the children fear to report it, which we need to change in all schools. When you do not report or confront a bully, you give them power over you," he added. 
In response to this tragic event, Education MEC Matome Chiloane, in a media address on Monday, emphasised the department's commitment to addressing bullying issues in schools.
"Indeed, we cannot underestimate the negative impact of bullying at our schools, and we acknowledge that it is experienced across our schools. 
"As such, we have launched a school safety campaign, Operation Kgutla Molao, which will assist us in attending to potential bullies and take them for necessary disciplinary intervention; we need to assist them." 
MEC Chilioane added that while police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the death, they are eagerly waiting for the post-mortem to reveal what led to it.