GroundUp reports that Cape Town teacher Ayanda Ntuthu has still not been suspended from the school where he teaches and where he committed sexual assault five-years ago.

According to the Western Cape Department of Education (WCED), it was unaware until last week that Ntuthu was prosecuted and found guilty. The state prosecutor will ask the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court to place Ntuthu, who was found guilty of sexually assaulting a learner, on the National Register of Sex Offenders when he is sentenced on 20 June. Equal Education and Molo Songololo, a non-profit organisation that advocates for the rights and protection of children, have condemned the failure to act against Ntuthu and are demanding answers from authorities. Ntuthu was found guilty on 18 March of sexually assaulting a learner at Thandokhulu High School in Mowbray in 2017. Five years after the incident Ntuthu is still teaching at the school and the boy is also still at the school. Ntuthu is currently on sick leave. WCED spokesperson Bronagh Hammond indicated: “We can only engage or ‘monitor’ a case if we are informed of the case”. Asked why the National Prosecuting Authority had not informed the WCED of Ntuthu’s guilty finding, a spokesperson said it is not their responsibility to inform the department of the progress and outcome of the case: “If the department was interested in following the progress of the case, they would have sent officials to court to follow the progress of the case or contact the prosecutor and request to be advised of the progress and outcome. That never happened.”

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Marecia Damons at GroundUp

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