[imagesource: Hoërskool Waterkloof]

Hoërskool Waterkloof, one of Pretoria’s most prestigious schools, was thrust into the spotlight last week amid explosive allegations of indecency and financial misconduct, with the scandal swirling around none other than the principal himself.

Among the allegations levelled against principal Chris Denysschen are his bizarre religious practices and the unsettling habit of making inappropriate remarks to students, News24 reports.

In terms of his inappropriate behaviour, Denysschen is accused of calling in two matric boys and asking them how much pornography they watched, just to “get a feel for what the boys were doing”, while asking a group of girls, in the presence of several male teachers and pupils at a camp for the student council, how they dealt with menstruation.

Some of the older girls also complained that Denysschen hugged them inappropriately when he congratulated them on receiving an award, even if they offered him a hand or resisted the hug. He is also said to have made an inappropriate announcement about a school civvies day over the school’s intercom system, warning girls that they were seductive when they wore clothes exposing their shoulders and knees. The girls were upset about that, so two days later, it is alleged, Denysschen went on his knees before the school to ask for forgiveness and asked pupils to lay hands on him and pray for him.

This is where the 49-year-old school principal’s behaviour gets weirder.

Image: Facebook

He refers to himself as ‘Pappa D’ and reportedly forces students to stand during assembly so he can pray for them. If no one volunteers, he allegedly intimidates them by insisting that every child has problems, making it impossible that no one needs his intercession. He even calls the school hall his “tabernacle.” “We’re never quite sure if he sees himself as the school principal or a church pastor,” a source told Rapport.

In August, Denysschen officiated a teacher’s wedding in his office and last year, he baptised five rugby players at the school. There are also strange reports that he smells students’ hair, claiming he can discern details about their lives based on the scent. Some students have even started calling him ‘Pastor Denysschen’.

This is where the claims of financial mismanagement come in. It is alleged that the giant school auditorium, which is being constructed at a high cost under Denysschen’s leadership, has been earmarked for use by gospel singer Retief Burger’s church.

It’s alleged that the school’s governing body never approved the project due to the staggering estimated cost of around R45 million—far exceeding the school’s available R19 million. Denysschen, however, is reportedly banking on an influx of new students next year to somehow cover the shortfall. Burger, meanwhile, bragged in a social media post that “Funding is running well already.”

“Thank you to everyone who has already given and if you haven’t given yet – you have the opportunity, and if you can give, please do. Be part of what we are doing here.”

Gospel singer Retief Burger on the building site. | Image: Facebook

Denysschen has since been provisionally removed from his post following a complaint that lawyer Sean Hefferman submitted to the Gauteng education department on behalf of pupils’ parents.

According to Rapport, he was not at the school on Friday but “he was kept busy with school and other tasks” at the department’s district office.

Department spokesperson Steve Mabona described the complaint against the headmaster as “serious” and said the department ordered an investigation into the allegations.

There was also a strange moment when Denysschen pitched up to an assembly on 5 August with slurred speech and made an excuse about sleeping badly and drinking water that morning, which had a sleeping tablet dissolved in it.

Denysschen has been at the helm at Waterkloof since 2018, before which, he was principal of Hoërskool Ben Vorster in Tzaneen, Limpopo.

The wacky dude made the news in 2021 when he undertook to sit on the school roof for a day wearing only a “Faf de Klerk broekie” if the school’s matrics achieved more than 1,000 distinctions.

The guy even keeps a giant tarantula spider in his office, which he sometimes lets crawl all over his face. It is safe to say Denysschen is eccentric – he should really just really keep his quirks away from the young students at his school.

[source:news24]