'Sex pest' teacher beaten up

A Limpopo teacher accused of buying alcohol for a pupil and fondling her is recovering in hospital after he was attacked by members of the community.

A footage of the attack went viral on social media with the community of Namakgale in Phalaborwa accusing the teacher of abuse.

Provincial department of education spokesperson Sam Makondo, however, said there was no basis to believe that the teacher had attempted to have sex with the girl.

"There is no basis for believing the sex allegations unless the pupil provides a statement to that effect," said Makondo.

The teacher said he neither bought alcohol for the pupil nor attempted to have sex with her. Speaking from his hospital bed yesterday, the teacher said he had accompanied the pupil home to talk to her parents about her poor schoolwork.

"The pupil had a tendency of not attending classes and her work was not up to scratch. I then felt a need to go and speak to her parents," he said.

He said the pupil's parents were not home and that he was returning to the school with the pupil in his car when he was stopped by occupants in unknown car. "I was driving past a soccer field when the driver stopped me and I did not hesitate to stop. At the back of my mind was that I may have had a puncture."

To his surprise, the teacher said one of people in the car removed the keys from his car's ignition. "And suddenly I was under attack without being given an opportunity to provide an explanation as to why I was in the company of the pupil," he said, adding that some community members who were drinking at a nearby tavern joined in the attack.

He said he was fortunate that a prominent person who was passing by came to his rescue and saved his life.

The pupil's mother, who cannot be identified to protect the identity of the victim, rejected the teacher's version. "My daughter told me she screamed for help when the teacher was fondling her [and that's when he was stopped]."