State tried to ‘bribe’ parents
Michael’s death in school pit toilet recalled
The family of Michael Komape rejected a R450 000 settlement from the Department of Basic Education with “contempt” after their son drowned in a pit latrine while at school.
Yesterday the high court in Polokwane heard how Michael’s parents were offered the amount after the six-year-old died by drowning in human excrement after falling into rickety pit toilet at the school on January 2o 2014.
The offer was made after James and Rosina Komape of Chebeng, on the outskirts of Polokwane, filed a lawsuit against Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga in 2015.
The family is claiming almost R3-million in damages, including R2-million for grief as well as a further R940 000 for trauma and shock.
The family filed the lawsuit with the help of civil organisation Section27.
The department has conceded to the merits of the case but it has disputed the accuracy of a photograph being used to depict the condition of the time Michael fell into it.
They also intend to argue that the family should be paid less for shock and trauma.
They have brought the case amid allegations that the department’s failure to provide proper sanitation at schools caused their child’s death.
The department responded in court papers denying responsibility in Michael’s death, saying that the latrine was not dilapidated.
Yesterday the family’s lawyer, Advocate Vincent Maleka, told the court they rejected the offer “with the contempt it deserved” as it was prejudicial to the Komapes.
Maleka said the family had suffered immensely following Michael’s death.
“This is a case about a humble family who have approached this court after it lost the life of one of its own,” he said.
Maleka went through a detailed list of witnesses, including two pupils from Mahlodumela Primary School who made the gruesome discovery of Michael’s body. He said the pupils would testify how teachers told them not to tell anyone about the shocking discovery.
The court is also expected to hear testimony from the doctor who carried out the postmortem on Michael. Maleka said the doctor would give clarity on the horrific experience the boy went through the day he died. He said they also intend on presenting evidence that both the provincial and the national departments had known about the poor state of toilets in the province since 2009.
Michael’s mother, Rosina, broke down in tears as she recalled her son’s last moments, including his hand protruding from beneath the pit toilet. “When I looked down I saw Michael’s hand.”
She said the school had called her, feigning ignorance about Michael’s demise as they told her he was last seen at 10am that morning.
Rosina said when she insisted to go look in the toilets, as per information she already had from another pupil, the school staff discouraged her.
She described the structure saying it was surrounded by tall grass and had rotting corrugated iron.
Michael’s father, James, said he was still struggling to find closure: “We hope this case will end poor sanitation in our schools. We don’t want to see more incidents like this.”
The trial to continues.