Teen dies in Westering house fire after cruel twist of fate
A tragic twist of fate over the Easter weekend has left a Westering mother questioning her faith after a fire killed her son, gutted their home and destroyed all their possessions.
Though Lukhanyo Kwikwi, 19, was initially meant to accompany his mother to a Good Friday church service and spend the night in KwaDwesi, they did not have enough money for both of them to be transported to the area.
At about 6am on Saturday, Kwikwi’s mother, Ntombebongo, received a frantic call from her neighbours saying her Clarence Street home was engulfed in flames.
After she arrived, and firefighters doused the flames, her worst fears were realised as her son’s charred remains were discovered in his room.
Sitting on a donated mattress in the single garage — the only structure on the premises that was not destroyed — the 45-year-old sobbed as she struggled to come to terms with what had happened.
“They [firefighters] would not let me into the house and no-one would tell me where he [Kwikwi] was, even though I already knew in my heart what everyone was trying to hide.
“I forced my way in and even though I saw him with my own eyes I still cannot accept it,” she said.
Ntombebongo said she now faced the task of rebuilding from nothing.
She stayed in the house with her son and 65-year-old mother, Fezeka, who was out of town visiting family when the tragedy struck.
“I only have this black dress I have been wearing since Friday when I left,” Ntombebongo said.
“My mother’s identity document is the only document left because it happened to be on me.
“From today onwards I am going to sleep in this bed that was also donated.
“I do not want to go around sleeping in people’s houses any more.
“All we are asking for is help to get a roof over our heads, or even temporary toilets because there isn’t even running water in the yard.
“I am just praying for whatever God allows.”
Police spokesperson Captain Sandra Janse van Rensburg said an inquest docket had been opened but no foul play was suspected. According to
Ntombebongo, she and Kwikwi were both supposed to have attended a church service in KwaDwesi, where they would have slept over before returning to Westering on Saturday.
However, his delayed Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) wage payment meant they did not have enough bus fare for both of them to make the trip, so he stayed behind.
“We woke up and cooked that [Friday] morning but I left him, hoping we would meet up at the evening service,” she said.
“Both our wages had not come in and the bus fare was not enough for us to go and return.
“He contacted me at about 5pm to say his stipend had not reflected but asked if he could still come.
“I told him if I used that last R100 while both our wages had not been paid, we wouldn’t have any more to return home the next day,” she said. Kwikwi slept at home after he insisted on being brought home from his friend’s house where he sometimes slept over.
“His friend told me that he insisted on being brought home at about 11pm because he wanted to wash dishes before I came back the next morning,” she said.
“I still do not understand why he wanted to come back from Sunridge so much that he almost started a fight with his friend who did not want to drive him back with his father’s car because it was late,” she said.
With digital pictures on her phone as the only reminders of the Westering High School alumnus, Ntombebongo said she now felt she had no purpose left in life.
“God should have taken me and spared my son,” she said.
“I sold my car last year so that he could go to initiation school and now there is nothing left.
“I feel like I have nothing else to live for.
“I would tell him I only lived for him and my mother, and he used to say he lived only for me and his grandmother.
“He wanted to go back to school next year so that he could take care of us,” Ntombebongo said.
“The only reason he was not studying this year was because he did not get NSFAS and he promised he would apply for school again while he got jobs to get by.”
Nelson Mandela Bay municipal spokesperson Mamela Ndamase did not respond by the time of publication.