Family suing state for death of pupil

MORE than 100 residents protested outside the high court in Polokwane in support of Michael Komape’s family.

The family is suing the Department of Education for the poor sanitation that led to his death in 2014.

The family’s representative, advocate Vincent Maleka, said that they deserved to get special damages for all the pain they had suffered since Michael’s death.

“Michael’s mother, Rosina Komape, was unable to go to work because of the pain she was going through. The family suffered psychologically,” said Maleka.

The court yesterday heard that the family had to go through several counselling sessions as they were unable to cope without Michael.

Maleka further said that the family was struggling to find closure regarding what had happened to their son.

“It is the State’s duty to protect pupils at school and provide them with proper sanitation. The school’s governing body was concerned about the poor conditions of the toilets at the school since 2009, but the department did nothing, despite various protests by the local residents,” said Maleka.

The representative also provided a list of people who would testify, including Michael’s parents, siblings and two of his friends who witnessed the incident, then later informed teachers.

According to Maleka, the family were seeing psychologists ahead of their testimony.