Gauteng Department of Education Sued for R8 Million After Boy Burned in Science Lab

• A Gauteng family filed a lawsuit against the Department of Education after their child was burned in a science lab
• The nine-year-old boy allegedly obtained a dangerous chemical which was left unguarded in an unlocked school lab
• The incident happened during a school event, and the burns permanently damaged his hearing in one ear

With nine years of experience, Tebogo Mokwena, a Briefly News current affairs journalist, provided insights into infrastructure challenges in South Africa at Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News.

GAUTENG — The Gauteng Department of Education is facing an R8 million lawsuit after a seven-year-old boy lost his hearing from a dangerous chemical at school.

9-year-old burnt in lab

The Citizen reported that the incident occurred at the Phororong Primary School in Khutsong in the West Rand. Onkarabile Thobowa was at a school-hosted colouring event when they ran out of paint. Onkarabile and 25 other pupils went to the school's laboratory to search for paint.

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They found a chemical they mistook for paint and started smearing one another. However, they sustained injuries, and while the 25 children sustained minor injuries, Onkarabile was severely injured. One of his ears sustained permanent damage, and he has been fitted with a hearing aid.

Family to sue the department

The family opted to use the department because it saw how it was unwilling to take responsibility for the incident. Beauty Thobowa, the child's mother, said their legal representatives sent the department a letter of demand. She believes that if the department had intervened and had taken her son to get quality medical care, his hearing would not have been damaged.

She blamed the school for forgetting to lock the science laboratory and has not received help settling the medical bills, even though she is unemployed.

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Nkosazana Daughter sues MacG

In a related article, Briefly News reported that Nkosazana Daughter sued MacG for over R1 million.

This was after the Podcast and Chill host alleged that amapiano artist Sir Trill was not the father of her child. He claimed that Master KG, with whom Nkosazana worked on a collaboration album, is her baby's father.

Source: Briefly News