ALI MPHAKI
T HE bodies of two boys are lying in a morgue, when the youngsters should be preparing themselves for the reopening of school tomorrow
Morapedi Jase, 13, and Bongani Baduza, 12, of Lawley, south of Joburg, drowned in a drainage system at a Pikitup landfill site in the area on Sunday.
Grieving relatives of the two boys said yesterday they were at a loss for words.
“Oh, my God, why allow this to happen when we are so poor? We do not know who is going to help us,” lamented Bogani’s sister, unemployed Bulelwa Baduza.
Morapedi’s grandfather, Tefo Jase, 66, a pensioner, said they had approached social workers to inform them about their plight: they are so poor they can’t afford to bury the boy.
“As you can see, we do not have anything. We are very poor,” said Jase, speaking from his two-room shack.
The boys were with two other boys when they went to the landfill at about midday, ostensibly to catch birds. They gained access to the facility without the security guards noticing them.
It is not clear how the boys met their deaths, but Joburg emergency services spokeswoman Nana Radebe said they drowned in a drainage system.
She said that after the boys realised the water was too deep, three of them managed to get out, but one was struggling. She said the three tried to rescue their friend using a tree branch but a second boy fell into the water and disappeared.
The two on the ground then rushed to the security guards for help, but it was too late.
Police divers had to be called to remove the boys’ lifeless bodies from the water.
Jase described his grandson as a respectable young man who loved sport, especially football and athletics.
“I still cannot understand why he went to the landfill instead of the soccer grounds, as he usually does on Sundays. We had hoped he will grow up to be a real man who would take care of our struggling family. Now he is gone,” said Jase, wiping tears from his eyes.
Morapedi had passed Grade 6 at the local Motjodi Higher Primary School and was looking forward to starting his Grade 7 class tomorrow. Bongani was to have started Grade 5 this year and his family had recently bought him his new school uniform.
Remembering the last moments they shared with Bongani on Sunday morning, Bulelwa said he had made tea for the whole family before he left with his friends.
“He promised to come back soon and wash. It is just too difficult for us to contemplate that we will never again see him or talk to him. It is really painful,” said Bulelwa.
Pikitup spokeswoman Pansy Oyedele, while extending condolences to both families, said the company was in the process of conducting an in-depth investigation and could not divulge further information.