Mineworker’s children left abandoned and destitute

THE death of Lonmin mine worker Thabiso Mosebetsane five years ago on August 16 2012 turned his three children into orphans. His wife had died in 2003. Mosebetsane had remarried but after his burial the relationship of his sons and their stepmother collapsed.

Katiso, 27, spoke about how his father’s death led to him and his two brothers having to move out of their comfort zone.

“When my father died, our family no longer had a breadwinner and it became the survival of the fittest,” Katiso said.

“The relationship between us and our stepmother soured and she left us. Soon thereafter, she was employed by Lonmin. We stopped talking to her and whatever income she made, she used it on herself.”

Katiso and his brothers Kabelo, 33, and Tshepo, 24, used to stay with their father in Marikana.

Katiso and Tshepo relocated to the Western Cape in 2016.

“We moved to Cape Town a year ago. I stay at the same neighbourhood with my younger brother, while my older brother [Kabelo] is based in Durban,” Katiso said.

Katiso dropped out of high school in Grade 11 and does menial jobs like installing tiles and windows while Kabelo, who was born with an eye disability, receives a social grant.

“I miss my dad a lot. Life without him has been rough. At times I would stay for up to a week without getting a job.

“My dream is earn a Code 14 licence [for driving trucks] and look for a job as a truck driver and probably return to Johannesburg.

“My family life changed drastically when my dad died; he used to provide for us.

“It was never my dream to stay in Cape Town. If my dad was still alive, he would have taken care of me until I had managed to secure a job.”

He said that he and his siblings had not managed to keep abreast with the developments of the Farlam Commission, which probed the Marikana massacre.

“No one has ever contacted us on whether the police officers who killed my dad have been prosecuted.

“I wish for someone to come to our rescue,” Katiso concluded. — DDC HAD mineworker Thabiso Thelejane and his fellow colleagues not been shot dead in the Marikana massacre five years ago, he would have experienced the joys of being a grandfather.

Marorisang, the wife of Thelejane’s son Kopano, gave birth to a bouncing baby girl, Palesa, three months ago.

Palesa will live her whole life without ever experiencing the love of her grandfather, who was a rockdrill operator at Lonmin and died aged 55.

Kopano said when his father died he felt his life had lost purpose.

However, Kopano is still demanding justice for his father.

“I feel bad that the policemen who shot my father are yet to be prosecuted. Whenever I see the police officers I feel disgusted,” he said. — DDC