An 11-year-old student lowered into pit latrine to retrieve the principal’s phone emerged covered in feces

• South African school principal Lubeko Mgandela lowered a boy into a pit latrine to retrieve his phone.
• The 11-year-old spent an hour searching with his bare hands and was lifted out of the pit covered in feces.
• Mgandela was charged with child abuse, appeared in court and was released on bail on Wednesday.

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A principal has been charged with child abuse after lowering an 11-year-old student into a pit latrine in order to retrieve his phone.

Lubeko Mgandela, the principal of Luthuthu Junior Secondary School in Eastern Cape, South Africa dropped his phone into the school's outdoor toilet earlier this month, the BBC reported.

According to AP, Mgandela used a thick rope to secure the boy and lower him into it to search for the phone with his bare hands. He was unable to find it and was lifted out of the pit covered in feces.

The principal originally promised to pay the student Rand 200 or $13 but he was paid Rand 50 or $3 for his efforts instead, AP added.

Local media reported that the incident only came to light after an NGO that promotes school attendance in the area heard about it.

Petros Majola, Director of the Khula Community Development Project, uploaded a video that has now gone viral and noted that the search for the phone took an hour, according to the BBC.

The grandmother of the boy, both of whom have not been named, told local news outlet GroundUp that she is happy that the case is getting attention and that Mgandela is being held accountable.

She said: "It has been hard for my grandchild to go to school because he has been laughed at by other pupils."

Mgandela appeared in court and was released on bail Wednesday. There have also been calls for his educator's license to be revoked.

Eastern Cape Education MEC Fundile Gade told reporters: "It is beyond disgrace that such an incident of inhumanity can be claimed against a school principal who we view as a parent and mentor to everyone in that community."

In 2018, South Africa vowed that all schools would have proper toilets are two five-year-olds died after falling into pit latrines.

However, more than 3,800, a sixth of all South Africa's schools, still use pit latrines despite the dangers, according to official figures.