Pretoria - The circumstances surrounding the apparent suicide of a teenager at the Soshanguve Secure Centre are still being investigated, according to the Department of Social Development in Gauteng.
The incident involved an unnamed Grade 10 boy who was discovered hanging in a dormitory at the juvenile centre a month after being taken into custody.
The Pretoria News can reveal that he was awaiting trial at the time of his death, but it was unclear, at the time of publication, what the charge was.
In a statement, Social Development MEC Mbali Hlophe confirmed that investigations were ongoing.
She said she was saddened by the “unfortunate” loss of life.
“Soshanguve Secure Care Centre is a place where young offenders are rehabilitated … and remains one of a few centres in Gauteng where the awaiting-trial and sentenced youth offenders are kept, and where they (serve) their sentences away from traditional prisons, which helps to keep young offenders away from turning into hardened criminals,” Hlophe said.
She said the centre also ensured the appropriate physical, behavioural, and emotional management of young people while providing an environment, milieu and programme that was conducive to their care, safety, healthy development and reformation.
In another incident at Kgetsi Ya Tsie Secondary School, near Hammanskraal, a boy in Grade 9 evidently took his own life at home on the same day.
Last week, Education MEC Matome Chiloane said he was “deeply saddened” by the two separate suspected suicide cases.
He said: “These incidents serve as a grim reminder that the emotional well-being of learners is a shared responsibility that requires immediate attention from all of us.
“As we mourn the loss of young lives, there is a growing determination to prevent future tragedies and to foster a culture of support, compassion, and understanding within the educational community. We wish to extend our condolences to the families and school communities.”
Several pupils have taken their own lives in recent years.
Two months ago, two Ekurhuleni girls killed themselves within days of each other. A Grade 8 pupil from Geluksdal Secondary School in Brakpan died on June 29, while a Grade 12 pupil from Nigel High School died on July 4.
According to the department, both took poison to end their lives.
In 2019, a 13-year-old girl apparently took her own life after being cyberbullied by fellow pupils.
The department had said at the time that a fellow pupil had distributed a damaging private image of the girl via social media to other pupils, among other incidents of bullying .
The girl reportedly informed her teachers and refused to go back to school, because she was afraid of the bullies. She took her own life a few days later in her bedroom at home.
In April 2021, Lufuno Mavhunga, a pupil at Mbilwi Secondary School, made headlines after taking her own life after a video of her being bullied by a fellow pupil had gone viral.
Pretoria News