Watch: Video of schoolgirl attacking boy condemned by Lesufi

A video of a girl beating a boy to his knees at their High School Jan Viljoen, Randfontein in Gauteng, began making its rounds on social media on 13 November 2019, with many people slamming the girl, saying she and her parents should be ashamed of themselves.

The girl in the video has been named as Natalie Mestre and has since deleted her profile on Facebook. 

Voilence at High School Jan Viljoen

It’s not clear why Mestre decided to beat the boy up but in the video, she can be heard trying to intimidate him, saying in Afrikaans: “Is jy bang vir my?” which translates to “are you scared of me?” 

Mestre asks the boy several times if he is scared of her, while he shrugs his shoulders in fear. Mestre laughs and giggles before she can be seen taking a deep breath and flinging forward, hitting the boy on his head. 

The boy turned, covering his face with his hands, trying to block her punches. Mestre then says:

“Vat weg jou hand,” translating to “take your hand away.” 

The boy, out of fear, listens to her and removes his hand. In the video, Mestre can be seen punching him extremely hard in the face. 

The boy dropped to his knees and Mestre too got on her knees beside him, telling him not to cry. Mestre then stands up, pats him on the back and walks away with a smirk on her face. 

Watch: Schoolgirl bullies classmate

Well well well Natalie Mestre from High-school Jan Viljoen, Randfontein https://t.co/ZZXAcoCbzH we'll make u famous now that u removed ur Facebook account..🤬😡😡 You need to be put in ur tracks for this unacceptable bullying @GovernmentZA @SACAP @News24 @ewnreporter pic.twitter.com/mpbjXizaPK

— John Fennel (@JohnFennel4) November 14, 2019

On the left side of the video, a couple sits cuddling each other. The girl on the boys lap, watches the fight, while smiling and the boy in her arms, looks away. 

A boy, either taking the video or an onlooker eggs Mestre on, saying that she should go ahead and hit him. 

How the video spread 

The video of Mestre beating a boy up has been shared countless times on social media. It is not certain whether the original sharer uploaded the video on its own or with Mestre’s FB profile attached but today 14 November 2019, Mestre’s name is out there, along with her profile picture. 

Although her profile has been deleted, many people are still writing about her on social media, saying, based on the video that she is a bully, she should be ashamed of herself, asking if this is what teachers have to deal with, and threatening that something terrible will come back to her for what she’s done. 

Here you go Natalie Mestre. Now we see that you are a bully & you need to be dealt with!! @GovernmentZA @SACAP @News24 @ewnupdates pic.twitter.com/u5PdFT1K9G

— John Fennel (@JohnFennel4) November 14, 2019

Reactions on social media 

A comment from Mestre’s mother on her daughter’s profile picture has been shown, reading: “My pragtige pop. Bly altyd so oulik. Mamma lief jou baie my skat. Moet nooit dat omstandighede en mense jou onder kry nie my skat. Trots op jou.” 

The direct translation in English reads: “My beautiful doll. Always stay so cute. Mamma loves you very much my darling. Never let circumstances and people get you down my darling. Proud of you.” This comment made viewers even more angry after seeing the video. 

FB user, Johan Ramkat Boer from Centurion, Gauteng was notified by FB on 14 November 2019, that his content (the video) was removed for violating community standards, after he tried to post it. 

Gauteng MEC for Education, Panyaza Lesufi said: “Race is irrelevant, she must account for her actions. Completely unacceptable.” 

This came after a Twitter user demanded she be expelled from her school.