Family smells a rat over boy’s ‘suicide’
School accused of hiding the truth
The family of a Limpopo pupil who allegedly committed suicide last week Friday has accused the school of concealing evidence relating to his death.
Mogau Mamaregane, a sixyear-old pupil at Dorothy Langa Primary School in Seshego, allegedly died on the premises next to the recycling bins.
The Grade 1 pupil had asked to go the toilet.
When he did not return to class, another pupil was sent to look for him.
The school alleged that the fellow pupil found him with his head inside a recycling bin.
He was rushed to a local clinic where he was certified dead.
The boy’s mother, Rosina Mamaregane, told Sowetan yesterday that her son “had bruises on his neck which indicated that a rope had been used to strangle him”.
She added he also had a swollen cheek and bubbles were coming out of his mouth. He had also vomited, she said.
“I want answers to what caused my son’s death,” said the 34-year-old mother.
With tears rolling down her face, the grieving mother said she had received a call from the school principal summoning her to the local clinic where he had taken her son.
“There is a first-aid kit at every school. Why they did not use it on him while summoning paramedics?” she asked.
“The principal told me to accept what the nurses told me. I smell a rat.”
“As a family we believe he was strangled and suffocated inside a recycling bin on the school premises, as evidenced by footprints we found next to where his body was found,” Mamaregane said.
The mother said when she went to fetch the postmortem report, she was told it would only be given to the police.
“I guess there is more to this than meets the eye. The truth must come out,” she said.
Her sister, Lekwetse Nchabeleng, said they were still traumatised by the incident.
“I raised the boy as my own. It is impossible that he could have committed suicide,” said Nchabeleng who was supported by her 75-year-old grandfather, Bernard Mamabolo who urged police to investigate the matter.
Lieutenant-Colonel Moatshe Ngoepe said the circumstances behind the incident were unknown and that investigations would reveal the cause of death.
“We advise members of the community, including teachers, to put the safety of children first on the basis that their movements and whereabouts must be monitored at all times to prevent these type of incidents,” Ngoepe said.
Provincial education department spokesman, Naledzani Rasila, said they were working with police and the family to uncover the truth.
He said they had also provided counselling to pupils and teachers at the school.
There is more to this than meets the eye Rosina Mamaregane MOTHER