Death claims young brothers on second try
Pair survived crash four years before
The family of little Thabang and Thabo Ramatsoma had heaved a sigh of relief four years ago when the pair survived being struck by a car while walking home.
However, the mother and grandmother of the two boys were yesterday left shattered after they drowned at a nearby dam after one of them was apparently shocked by a live illegal electricity cable.
According to an eyewitness, Alina Moloi, Thabang, 11, fell into the dam after being shocked by the exposed electrical wires. She said Thabo, nine, drowned trying to save his brother.
“The two children were among a group of kids who were busy playing by pushing around scrap tyres when Thabang stepped on a live electricity wire and fell into a dam,” Moloi said.
“I called members of the community to save the children. However, when they retrieved them from the water, it was already too late.”
A community member, who wanted to remain anonymous for fear of victimisation, said a syndicate was illegally connecting houses for a monthly fee to nearby electricity pylons.
The community member, who has been living at the Precast informal settlement in Lenasia, south of Johannesburg, for a year, alleged that over six people had been killed by the illegal electricity wires over that period.
When Sowetan visited the informal settlement yesterday innumerable uninsulated strings of illegal electricity wires ran on the ground. The cables also run on tree branches and fences.
Anna Monyela said her grandchildren had failed to attend school yesterday after they were left behind by their scholar transport.
The mother, Rivonia Motswi, said what made the situation more painful was that she had buried her children’s father a year ago following a car accident.
She said her children, who went to Olifantsvlei Primary School, were always together, hence the February 2014 car accident had happened while they were holding hands.
“Thabo was a quiet child who did not like to complain while Thabang was naughty and popular in the community,” she said.