Survivor recounts horror tragedy

Ten-year-old Siyabonga Mtolo is in need of counselling after he witnessed his three friends electrocuted by an electricity cable that fell into the river next to the Jika Joe informal settlement where they were swimming on Sunday.

“My friends asked me to come with them to swim for a while. I didn't want to go as the weather did not look good for swimming. We went to the river and the three of them jumped into the water first. They jumped from an old chair and splashed into the water. As I jumped in I saw the electricity cable fall to the ground, catching on fire.

“I told them to come out of the river but instead they splashed water and tried to put the fire out. One of them tried to pull the cable out of the water. That is when the electricity got them. It jumped from one to another

“I got out of the water, without clothes, I ran to get help for my friends. I called for anyone who could help me. I am scared after what happened and I can't stop thinking about what happened to my friends. I will never play in the river anymore,” said Siyabonga.

The parents of the three boys who died on Saturday afternoon at the Jika Joe settlement said they are left devastated by the tragedy and only have memories of their children to cling to.

Thabile Dewa said that her youngest child, Ernest Dewa (8), asked her for money before he left to play with his friends.

“He was with me in the morning, he was playing outside, I was watching him. He then asked me for R1 to buy chips as he was going to play with his friends. I gave him R10 and told him to buy fried chips. He thanked me and left.

“I heard the people calling as they found three boys in the river. I did not know Ernest was one of them but I ran as I also have children. Then I saw that he was one of the boys. He was a learner at Russell Primary School. I don't even have a picture of him as it was all destroyed in the last fire in

September,” said Thabile.

Khanyisile Dlamini said that she is mourning the death of her grandson Buhlebuyeza Jili and is calling on the municipality to move them to better housing.

“This is very painful. I am thinking of my grandson. We have seen a lot of people die from these illegal electricity connections. We want them to remove these cables and we want them to move us to better housing,” said Dlamini.

Gift Dlamini’s (6) grandmother Julia Dlamini said that she received a call from his mother to check on him.

“The community members called his mother who was at work and she called me to check on

Gift. I ran to the area where they had taken out the boys. It was too late as he had already passed on. His sister was the last to see him alive that day. Our last born has died, I am very hurt by his death in this manner,” said Dlamini.

Gift was one of five siblings and his family lost all their belongings in the fire that ravaged the settlement two months ago.