Outcry After KZN Learner Alleges He Was Expelled for Being Gay

A 16-year-old learner from a high school in Kwamashu has alleged severe discrimination based on his sexual orientation, raising serious concerns about the treatment of LGBTQIA+ learners in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) schools.

The matter was brought to public attention by Sakhile Mngadi, a Member of the KZN Provincial Legislature, after the learner reached out to him for assistance.

According to Mngadi, the teenager was expelled from the school in 2025 while in Grade 9, allegedly without a disciplinary hearing. The learner claims the school cited his dress code and “flamboyant personality” as reasons for expulsion.

“I was expelled last year because the school said the way I dressed and my flamboyant personality make me troublesome. But the real issue is that I am gay,” the learner wrote in a message to Mngadi.

The learner further stated that attempts to return to school this year were blocked, with the school allegedly claiming his mother had transferred him, something the family denies.

He says the ordeal left him feeling deeply rejected and discriminated against, ultimately leading to a suicide attempt.

Mngadi confirmed that he personally engaged the learner, his grandmother, and a social worker involved in the case. He said medical reports show that the learner had to be hospitalised after ingesting an entire bottle of pills, and subsequent assessments indicate that he fell into clinical depression.

“How do you do this to a 16-year-old?” Mngadi asked. “How do you discriminate a child to the point where you enact your discrimination by expelling them, forcing that child into a clinical depression where they attempt to unalive themselves?”

He described the alleged conduct by the school as “an abnormal response by someone who has been trusted with authority over children,” adding that denying a child access to education based on sexual orientation is both unlawful and inhumane.

Mngadi further revealed that the learner’s grandmother, referred to as Gogo, allegedly went to the school to plead for the child’s reinstatement but was chased away. He also claims there is a recording in which a school clerk allegedly told a family member that the school “doesn’t teach gays.”

“It is clear that this child has not made this up,” Mngadi said. “There are serious issues of discrimination at [the school] in Kwamashu, and it now needs the intervention of people at a senior level.”

Mngadi has since taken on the case and been in touch with both the Department of Education and the South African Council for Educators, calling for accountability and consequences where wrongdoing is found.

“I’ve engaged the Department of Education and asked for an immediate independent investigation into the principal and these allegations,” he said, adding that he wants the learner back in school without delay.

MambaOnline has been informed that an investigation is currently underway, led by Dr Mervyn Naidoo, a psychologist within the Department of Education. The investigation is expected to examine the allegations of discrimination, the learner’s expulsion, and the conduct of school staff.

The case has sparked renewed concern among LGBTQIA+ advocacy groups, who have long warned that queer learners remain vulnerable to prejudice and abuse within many South African schools, despite constitutional protections guaranteeing equality and the right to education.

MambaOnline will continue to follow developments in this case.