Court orders Gauteng Education Department to overhaul safety at school where Matric pupil died from electrocution

The Johannesburg high court has given the Gauteng Department of Education 15 days to say what it will do to fix infrastructure at Geluksdal Secondary School in Brakpan, where a teenager was electrocuted in 2017.

Matric pupil Maubrey Mahudu died instantly from electrocution when she touched the metal door frame of a mobile classroom during a storm in January 2017. She was said to have removed her shoes to keep them dry because the area was flooded because of inadequate stormwater drainage.

She would have turned 18 two days later.

The order was granted by Johannesburg high court Judge Marcus Senyatsi this week.

The teenager’s parents, Deshage Meshak Mahudu and Mpule Gladys Mahudu are suing the provincial education department for R7-million alleging negligence.

They also sought orders against the MEC to make sure that the school infrastructure is repaired, replaced and properly secured so that a tragedy like this never happens again.

They said that despite repeated attempts by their attorneys to ascertain what steps had been taken since their daughter’s death to comply with the recommendations of an investigation report commissioned by the department, they had received no response. “The only reasonable inference is that no steps have been taken whatsoever.”

“For us this matter is of enormous concern. It causes us great distress to think that not only did Maubrey die needlessly, but her death and the investigations have been in vain and have not resulted in other learners being protected.”

The parents said the investigation report had concluded that the principal had reported the issues of stolen wiring, circuit breakers and earth leakage equipment to the department. But these reports “fell through the cracks, because the left hand did not know what the right hand was doing” and each division thought the other was dealing with it.

A draft order was handed into court by their lawyers from Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, which Judge Senyatsi made an order of court saying he was “in 100% agreement” that a proper case has been made out on the papers. The matter was unopposed.

The judge directed that:

• The MEC and the school must urgently replace and repair circuit breakers, earth leakage and other electrical equipment at the school;


• Gauteng education officials in the works inspection department who did not report on the death of the learner be reprimanded;


• The roles and responsibilities of different officials within the department should be clear to make sure that electrical infrastructure was maintained;


• Details be given on how security would be improved to prevent repeated theft of life-saving electrical equipment; and


• Steps be taken to discipline officials who failed to take action after the unsafe infrastructure was reported.