South African teen commits suicide after bullying incident

SOUTH AFRICAN TEEN COMMITS SUICIDE AFTER BULLYING INCIDENT

News of a fifteen-year-old South African teen, Lufuno Mavhunga, committing suicide following a bullying incident from one of her schoolmates that went viral on social media has been terribly upsetting!

Lufuno Mavhunga, a student at Mbilwi Secondary School, overdosed on pills following the vicious assault by her 14-year-old schoolmate, who has since been arrested for assault.

According to Lufuno’s brother, she had texted him after school to notify him of the incident and he promised to call her shortly, which she had responded with “I will wait”, only for him to call her and get the news that she had collapsed.

Bullying has been a rampant scourge in schools and it’s about time the issue is treated with the seriousness it deserves and especially in the digital era where cyberbullying has given the vice a digital presence, that continues to torment the victims over time.

Bullying is described as the use of force, coercion, hurtful teasing or threat, to abuse, aggressively dominate or intimidate. The behavior is often repeated and habitual.

Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying on the other end or cyberharassment is a form of bullying or harassment using electronic means. Cyberbullying and cyberharassment are also known as online bullying.

Cyberbullying has become increasingly common, especially among teenagers, as the digital sphere has expanded and technology has advanced.

Technology and the popularity of social media platforms have made it easy to expose and report bullying incidents but at the same time opened up a new frontier to escalate bullying.

CYBER-BULLYING MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK IN KENYA

The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA), cognizant that cyberbullying has become widespread in Kenya, has been at the forefront of convening various stakeholders to explore the menace and has also been conducting various training to protect children against abuse online.

According to CA, more than 50 percent of children experience various forms of cyber malpractice, yet they are the fastest growing online demography.

The Kenya Information and Communications Act, 1998, mandates the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) to develop a national cybersecurity management framework.

The National Kenya Computer Incident Response Team – Coordination Centre (National KE-CIRT/CC)

In order to mitigate cyber threats and foster a safer Kenyan cyberspace, the authority established the National Kenya Computer Incident Response Team – Coordination Centre (National KE-CIRT/CC), a multi-agency collaboration framework that is responsible for the national coordination of cybersecurity as Kenya’s national point of contact on cybersecurity matters.