Joyful laughter turned into screams of terror when four Grade 7 pupils from Madabani Primary school went swimming in a nearby stream, and one of the boys drowned.
Sello Muthivhi (15) and his friends went for a swim in a stream in Madabani on Monday (15 February). When his friends later realized that he was in trouble, they desperately tried to save him, but the water was too deep and murky. The swimming excursion turned into a nightmare for the boys as they watched their friend drown. They ran to the settlement to alert community members of the incident.
The police were called, but when they arrived at the scene, darkness had already fallen and Sello was nowhere to be found. Members of the police divers' search and rescue team, assisted by community members, searched the whole area together, using a boat, with no success. Community and family members slept next to the stream until the police divers arrived the next morning (16 February). Sello's body was only found on the third day of their search (17 February).
Ms Tendani Muthivhi, who spoke on behalf of the family, told Limpopo Mirror that she was expecting Sello to study hard. His dream was to become a lawyer. "We are grieving over the death of Sello and are sad that his body could not be found immediately." She said that the family had accepted his death, even though they had expected to see him grow up proudly and establish himself in society.
The community now fears that more children, particularly younger ones, might go to the stream and drown in the very same way that Sello did.
Police spokesperson Brig Motlafela Mojapelo said that the police in the province were repeating their call to all members of the community to be extremely careful around dams and rivers, especially during the rainy season when water levels were high.
"Parents must improve child safety at all times to prevent these tragedies from occurring," he said. "We have opened an inquest docket on this incident and the police's investigation continues."