Parents Vow to Keep Children Out of School After Murder of Learner

• Anga Ndema, 13, was murdered as she walked the 6km home from school in Mantanjeni kwaMfula in Tsomo in the Eastern Cape at the weekend.
• Her body was found in a dilapidated building after a search.
• Parents have vowed not to send their children to school next term unless scholar transport is provided.

Parents in Tsomo in the Eastern Cape have vowed not to send their children to school next term unless they are provided with scholar transport. This follows the murder of a 13-year-old on her way back from school.

The lifeless body of Anga Ndema from Mantanjeni kwaMfula village in Intsika Yethu Local Municipality was found on Sunday after she went missing on Friday after school.

She was found in an old dilapidated building in the bushes not far from her school.

Anga had been walking home alone from Ndema Senior Secondary School.

Learners from her village walk 6km to school, across an open field and a river, and through bush. Learners who live more than 5km from school are entitled to scholar transport, but the Eastern Cape Department of Transport says it does not have the funds for all learners.

Provincial transport department spokesperson Unathi Binqose said the high court had ruled that every qualifying learner must be catered for. “However, we need additional funds to execute that,” he said.

The R760-million annual budget covered 103,000 learners across the province, said Binqose.

He said the department was consulting the provincial treasury for more funds and the provincial education department to identify learners and schools where transport was needed.

Anga’s aunt, Nokwakha Ndema, said Anga, who was living with her grandparents and sister as her mother works in East London, had gone to school on Friday to fetch her books. Learners had finished exams the previous day.

After unsuccessful attempts to find her through her classmates, the family phoned the police on Saturday. They were told to go to the police station in Tsomo town with her photo, said Ndema.

While they were waiting for transport to the town, the chief of the area called the men together and a search was started on Sunday morning.

Neighbour Siyabonga Mene was among the men who found the child’s body.

He said the learners had to walk through dangerous bush on the way to and from school. Parents had applied for scholar transport, but without success.

“It’s so unfortunate that our government does not care about the people they lead. Our children are now living in fear and … we have now taken a decision not to send them to school next term until the government provides us with scholar transport,” Mene said.

Sazi Ndlengezo said there used to be two junior secondary schools in the village but these had been merged into one, in spite of parents’ opposition. Grade 8 and 9 were cut from the merged school. This meant the children in those grades had to walk to a more distant school. “They cross two rivers. When it rains, we men from these villages must go to the rivers to help children cross, and that is also dangerous,” he said.

Anga’s grandmother Nolinen Ndema said Anga had loved to help around the house.

“That is why I quickly noticed that she was not home. There was quietness, something we would never feel when she was around,” said Nolinen.

“I had hoped that she would eventually return home… I never thought I would hear that she is no more.”

“She was always smiling,” said Anga’s mother Bongeka Ndema, who last saw her daughter in February. She said she did not know how she would recover from the loss.

Anga’s friend, 13-year-old Banoyolo Vokwana, said she and Anga usually went to school in a group.

“This side we are five girls. We would meet some of the boys. They normally wait for us. We would then go together,” she said.

“Anga loved school and I tried so hard to convince her not to go to school on Friday but she insisted. After we finished writing our teacher said if we want to come to school we can but there’s nothing much we will be doing. Since there was a traditional ceremony for boys going to initiation school, I went there and dodged school but Anga said she would rather be at school,” said Banoyolo.

Eastern Cape police spokesperson Namhla Mdleleni said on Sunday police had been summoned and a search had been conducted with members of the community.

Mdleleni said the body of a girl had been found in a ruined building near the forest. A case of murder had been opened, and no arrests had been made yet.

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