‘Popopo six’ mourned at mass service
Parents and relatives of the six Matatiele pupils who drowned last week cried uncontrollably and collapsed during a mass memorial service at Popopo Primary School on Thursday.
Nurses and social workers had their hands full as they tried to console the grieving families.
Even local traditional leader Nkosi Gregory Lebenye and Matatiele mayor Momelezi Mbedla struggled to fight tears back during the moving memorial service.
Masixole Moleeko, Sixolile Ndleleni, Hlalanathi Mbuleka, Boitumelo Lebenya, Sinekhaya Mfolozi and Elomso Ntsimbi were killed by flash floods while crossing a river on their way back from school.
School governing body member Nogcinikhaya Magadla told a moving story on how she helplessly watched as the children drowned.
“But the water was so strong and there was nothing I could do to save them. I watched helplessly and this continues to haunt me,” said Magadla.
Speaker after speaker complained of how Freystata village had been a forgotten village with virtually no service delivery.
Government promised that the six’s death would not be in vain as there will be scholar transport while bridges are also being constructed.
Mbedla said for many years they were not aware that the village was under their jurisdiction until one villager, Tuso Lebanya, attended a ward meeting in 2016 where he complained that neither the Matatiele nor Elundini municipality had serviced the area.
“Indeed, there were no services rendered to them, no proper road , no clean water, no electricity nothing,” he said, stating that they were working to change that, starting with the building of the two bridges.
Lebenye said: “One is tempted to say that if there were services, proper roads, bridges and an accessible school, maybe these children might even be still alive. But we cannot always blame and question God’s will.”
Education MEC Mlungisi Mvoko said if there was a proactive approach from government, many service delivery problems could easily be solved.
“It’s a pity now there are lives that have been lost – lives of young children. This is a lesson not only to the department but to the whole government, as to what can we do to assist and prevent recurrence of things like this disaster,” he said.
Mvoko reiterated that pupils from Freystata would finally benefit from scholar transport as from next month.
“A six-year-old child is not supposed to be walking 10km to and from school. We were supposed to have provided them with transport. I promise for other children we will bring hope,” he said.
School principal Karabo Hantsi said pupils from Freystata have been crossing rivers for many decades since the school started 100 years ago.
A mass funeral will be held on Saturday.