Kuyasa Primary School in Khayelitsha has been shut since Thursday 20 August 2026 after a sewage leak left contaminated water in the school yard, with parents keeping learners home and the WCED confirming that clean-up was delayed because contractors said they felt unsafe on site. Teaching remained suspended as of 27 August 2026, with no confirmed date for full reopening.
According to GroundUp and Eyewitness News, parents met on 21 August 2026 and decided to close the school themselves because of health concerns linked to the overflow. The WCED said a previous leak outside the school had been fixed by the City of Cape Town and that emergency cleaning and sanitisation were arranged, with the department expecting normal operations to resume by Wednesday 26 August 2026. That did not happen.
WCED spokesperson Bronagh Hammond, quoted in the Cape Argus on 27 August 2026, said the department’s priority was learner and staff safety. “The health and safety of learners and staff remain our highest priority, and extensive efforts have been undertaken in partnership with the City of Cape Town to address the situation,” Hammond said.
Hammond added that remediation work was halted the previous day. “Regrettably, the implementation of these measures was delayed yesterday when contractors on site were instructed not to proceed with the required work,” she said. The Cape Argus reported that contractors indicated they felt unsafe in the environment, preventing critical clean-up from being completed as scheduled. Who specifically instructed the contractors to stop has not been independently confirmed by a second source.
The City of Cape Town said the blockage was on the school’s property and therefore not a municipal service issue, according to Smile FM and Eyewitness News. This has fuelled community frustration over what residents describe as a recurring problem with no permanent fix.
Khayelitsha Development Forum chairperson Mawande Jara, speaking to VOC FM on 27 August 2026, expressed doubt about the department’s commitment. “No, look, the Department of Education — I doubt if they take this matter very seriously,” Jara said. The KDF said the problem has been recurring for years and that a scheduled meeting with the WCED did not go ahead, though the claim that the issue dates back to 2017 has not been independently verified.
ANC leader in the Western Cape legislature Khalid Sayed visited the school on 25 August 2026 and told VOC FM that learners and staff had reportedly fallen ill, with attendance negatively affected. Claims of illness have not been independently verified through medical or official records.
On 26 August 2026, Eyewitness News reported that learners, parents and community members marched to WCED offices demanding intervention. The protest underscored growing anger over infrastructure failures at schools in Khayelitsha, where sewage and sanitation problems have been a persistent concern for residents across the Cape Flats.
It remains unknown who instructed the contractors to halt work and whether the WCED has rescheduled the missed meeting with the KDF. Cape Flats journalist Nadia Jacobs will follow up with SAPS Khayelitsha and the WCED on the morning of 28 August 2026 for an update.