Drowned boy (5) had premonition of his death
A FIVE-YEAR-OLD boy who was swept away by floods this week had told his mother before the incident happened that he did not want to go to school.
Ithuteng Rantsho, a Grade 1 pupil at Leporung Combined School outside Mahikeng, slipped and fell into a storm water drain while trying to cross it.
A day before the incident, he had told his mother Ketshepileone Rantsho, 27, that he did not want to go to school on Monday because it was raining heavily.
The boy’s grandmother, Kebareng Motlhono, 63, said Ithuteng’s mother was weak and still in shock over the tragic accident.
Motlhono said the boy had told his mother that he did not want to go to school that day, but his mother forced him to go because she suspected he wanted to bunk school. “We wanted him to be educated and thought he should attend school even when it was raining.”
Even the boy’s father, who works in Zeerust, wanted to call the family to instruct them not to let his son go to school due to the flooding.
Seabelo Motlhong, 30, said: “... In the morning I wanted to call but realised that I did not have airtime.”
When he came back from work, he received messages that his son was dead.
“I am never short of airtime, but that morning I did not have it ...” he said.
Ithuteng’s uncle Gaobotse Motlhono said he had promised to buy him a bicycle on his birthday. He was going to turn six on May 2. “I am heartbroken. He had a bright future ahead of him.”
Ithuteng will be buried tomorrow at Leporung.