A 16-year-old Limpopo learner has allegedly taken her own life after claiming that her teacher told her that “she was the ugliest girl in class”.

Mamaila Makhubele was a Grade 10 learner at Mashao Secondary School in Ga-Ntata village in Limpopo. According to her family, Mamaila left behind a suicide note where she detailed how her teacher had been bullying her and using derogatory language since she was in Grade 8.

In the note, she went on further to say that she felt helpless because she couldn’t defend herself. Her 28-year-old sister, Thabelo Mbedzi says she found her sister’s lifeless body in when she tried wake her up. A bottle of painkillers and the suicide note was found next to her body.

A postmortem test is being conducted to understand the circumstances surrounding Mamaila’s death.