Police in Johannesburg, South Africa are trying to determine whether charges should be filed surrounding the suspicious death of a newborn baby that was found at the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy.
According to a police investigation, a 17-year-old girl gave birth to a child on February 16, and subsequently taken to a hospital because she was bleeding profusely. The discarded infant was discovered in a plastic bag with bloodied clothing at the all-girls school. Law enforcement officials are still trying to determine if the child was stillborn or killed.
Local police captain Shado Mashobane told News24 that a 17-year-old student at the institution on Wednesday "gave birth to the baby at the school, but we can't confirm what happened to it. A case of concealment of death is being investigated."
The academy, which opened with tons of fanfare back in January 2007 and whose mission it is to transform young girls from extremely impoverished backgrounds into their nation's future leaders, will provide its students with counseling services until police have concluded their investigation.
Since opening its doors, the elite boarding school has been involved in scandals and controversies that have made global headlines. Just three months into its first year, parents complained because they were only allowed to visit their children once a month and the girls were only allowed to use their cell phones on weekends. Then in October of 2007, a dorm matron was accused of sexually and physically molesting six students.
Winfrey has received other criticisms regarding the Leadership Academy including the racial makeup of the students, as most of the students selected and accepted as candidates for the school are black. Last year, Oprah settled a defamation lawsuit that a former headmistress, who was in place during the sex scandal, filed against her.
Officials at the school said they were respecting and protecting the pupil's privacy and are refusing to release her name.
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"Winfrey has received other criticisms regarding the Leadership Academy including the racial makeup of the students, as most of the students selected and accepted as candidates for the school are black"
I'm NO Oprah fan but this school is in AFRICA! Why shouldn't the students at the school be mainly BLACK??
As far as this latest scandal goes this is sad to hear but a blind man could see this coming. All I have ever heard reported from this school is negativity. Oprah certainly had a right to open a school wherever she wanted. But her decision before she opened this school to take a back handed cheap shot at black American girls was way off base. Oprah said in so many words that African girls were more worthy or deserving of a private school than black American girls. This statement was low down, uncalled for and bigoted. I don't care how much money she gives to charity. It doesn't entitle you to make sweeping bigoted remarks.
Oprah justification for opening this school in Africa and not America was that black American girls didn't care about education. True, some don't but to generalize that ALL black American girls are this way was mean spirited and dead wrong. These African girls have the same issues or worst as many black, white, Hispanic, Asian America girls. All these scandals have shown that and just how wrong Oprah was. Children/people are basically the same regardless of where they live.
i am not that much of an fan of hers either but to say that theres been problems because the school is for black young women is not only wrong but stupid....
she took young black girls from different villages....
karma is a bit$h. this judas had no right to parrot YT in saying black american girls don't want education. this is a filthy lie and a betrayal to her ancestors brought to america in chains, it is said that many of us were possibly sold to YT by our african brothers. do you consider that there is african involvement in the transatlantic slave trade and that africa's problems could be the result of their own karma related to that? we, in the west are the protocal children of africa. we need to look out for the africans in the diaspora first. I would like to hear an accountable explanation from africa regarding the slavery questions. i can't see africans ruling over us in the west whose education is financed by the protocal child in the west. looks like a continued exploitation, to me.
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Comments: (5)
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By: David on 2/22/2011 2:53PM
"Winfrey has received other criticisms regarding the Leadership Academy including the racial makeup of the students, as most of the students selected and accepted as candidates for the school are black"
I'm NO Oprah fan but this school is in AFRICA! Why shouldn't the students at the school be mainly BLACK??
As far as this latest scandal goes this is sad to hear but a blind man could see this coming. All I have ever heard reported from this school is negativity. Oprah certainly had a right to open a school wherever she wanted. But her decision before she opened this school to take a back handed cheap shot at black American girls was way off base. Oprah said in so many words that African girls were more worthy or deserving of a private school than black American girls. This statement was low down, uncalled for and bigoted. I don't care how much money she gives to charity. It doesn't entitle you to make sweeping bigoted remarks.
Oprah justification for opening this school in Africa and not America was that black American girls didn't care about education. True, some don't but to generalize that ALL black American girls are this way was mean spirited and dead wrong. These African girls have the same issues or worst as many black, white, Hispanic, Asian America girls. All these scandals have shown that and just how wrong Oprah was. Children/people are basically the same regardless of where they live.
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By: donna on 2/22/2011 7:06PM
Thank-you..agree with you 1000%!!!!!
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By: renee on 2/24/2011 2:27PM
are you out of what little mind you have
i am not that much of an fan of hers either but to say that theres been problems because the school is for black young women is not only wrong but stupid....
she took young black girls from different villages....
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By: rasfanta on 2/26/2011 6:31PM
karma is a bit$h. this judas had no right to parrot YT in saying black american girls don't want education. this is a filthy lie and a betrayal to her ancestors brought to america in chains, it is said that many of us were possibly sold to YT by our african brothers. do you consider that there is african involvement in the transatlantic slave trade and that africa's problems could be the result of their own karma related to that? we, in the west are the protocal children of africa. we need to look out for the africans in the diaspora first. I would like to hear an accountable explanation from africa regarding the slavery questions. i can't see africans ruling over us in the west whose education is financed by the protocal child in the west. looks like a continued exploitation, to me.
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By: goddess on 3/03/2011 11:40PM
Lord, please, just please, just please do something for your Black people on this earth. Just please. Amen.
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