A 30-year-old mathematics teacher has been arrested in Soweto on charges of assault and sexual harassment after an incident involving a Grade 10 pupil that has shocked parents and educators across Gauteng.
Police confirmed on Friday morning that Miss Deliwe Chantel Phehli was taken into custody following a complaint lodged at the Protea Glen police station earlier this week.
The case centres on an accusation that quickly spiralled into something far more serious.
It began a few days ago in a crowded classroom. The teacher reportedly noticed her iPhone 13 was missing and immediately pointed the finger at one of her learners, 16-year-old Denzel Mhlongo.
What happened next unfolded in front of dozens of pupils.
According to witnesses and the official complaint, Miss Phehli allegedly grabbed the teenager by the neck and began searching him aggressively. Classmates say she reached into his trouser pockets and then, in full view of everyone, grabbed his genitals while claiming she was looking for the missing phone.
The search turned up nothing.
Moments later, the iPhone 13 was discovered exactly where the teacher had left it – inside the staff toilet block.
By then the damage had been done.
Denzel left the school premises shortly afterwards. He did not go home. He did not answer calls. For almost three days the Grade 10 pupil was missing, sparking frantic searches across Soweto townships.
Posters appeared on lamp posts. WhatsApp groups buzzed with pleas for information. The family offered a reward.
On Thursday afternoon a street vendor selling ironing boards spotted the boy walking alone near the Nancefield hostel area. The vendor recognised him from the missing-person alerts, bundled him into a taxi and delivered him straight to his grateful family.
The Mhlongo household erupted in relief. The vendor walked away R100,000 richer.
But the joy lasted only hours.
Denzel’s mother, Mrs Lorretta Mhlongo – who holds the senior position of District Manager in the Gauteng Department of Education – listened as her traumatised son finally told her what had happened in that classroom.
She immediately drove to the local police station and opened a criminal case of assault and sexual harassment against the teacher.
Investigators moved swiftly. By Friday morning Miss Phehli had been arrested at the school and taken away in handcuffs.
Police spokesperson Captain Solomon Ngcobo told reporters outside the station that the matter is being treated with the utmost seriousness.
“This is not a simple misunderstanding,” Captain Ngcobo said. “We are dealing with the alleged assault and sexual violation of a minor by a person in a position of trust. Cases of this nature carry heavy penalties.”
He added that the state will push for the teacher to be detained until her first court appearance, warning that offences involving the sexual harassment of children rarely end in fines.
“People must understand – touching a child in that way is never acceptable, no matter the circumstances. Jail time is the only realistic outcome here,” he said.
The Gauteng Department of Education has placed Miss Phehli on immediate precautionary suspension pending the outcome of both the criminal case and an internal disciplinary process.
Parents at the school – which has not been named to protect the victim – gathered in angry clusters at the gates on Friday, demanding answers about how such an incident could happen on school property.
Some pupils who witnessed the event described feeling frozen with shock as the teacher carried out the search.
One Grade 10 girl, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “We all just stood there. No one knew what to do. It felt wrong but she’s the teacher.”
The South African Teachers’ Union has distanced itself from the incident, saying any proven misconduct will not be defended.
As Miss Deliwe Chantel Phehli spends her first night in custody, the community waits to see whether the courts will send a clear message that no adult – not even one standing at the front of a classroom – is above the law when it comes to protecting children.
The teacher is expected to appear in the Protea Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
Only then will the full details of the state’s case – and the young boy’s own testimony – be heard in public for the first time.
