Four siblings swept away as church next door collapses
● When you look at the muddy ground where Mmeli’s Sokhela’s cottage once stood, you can only imagine the avalanche of mud that pushed the neighbouring church onto his property and snaked into the rooms, carrying away four of his children in its destructive path.
Nhlanhla, 28, Sandile, 24, Luyanda, 16, and Olwethu, 12, were powerless against the force of the rain and the mud.
On Wednesday the wailing of women lamenting the loss of his four children could be heard, as Sokhela, who does piecemeal jobs, relived the horror of Monday night.
Battling to control his tears, he said all he could remember was a rumbling sound similar to a thunderstorm. He didn’t realise the sound was the wall of the Methodist church next door as it came tumbling down.
“It was close to 9pm when I heard the bang. I tried running away but I could not,” he said.
The mud was thick and rubble hindered movement as he tried desperately to grab for the children, but to no avail.
He described the youngest, Olwethu, as mischievous.
“I would often scold my child,” he said.
He said they had settled in Clermont from the Weenen area of Estcourt in central KwaZulu-Natal.
“What normally happens is we get puddles of mud. But this was horrendous,” he said.
His life was saved by his neighbours who lifted him out of danger. He said he would treasure the memories that he had with his children.
“Olwethu was a good kid who loved writing and would often make a mess with the books,” he said.
He said his eldest, Nhlanhla, was a resilient man, who was unemployed but never stopped looking for a job.
“This tragedy has also shattered my partner, who was on night shift when the incident happened,” he said.
Wellington Nyembe, Sokhela’s landlord, said the rescue team had arrived during the night but were unable to help.
“They said they could not do anything in the dark,” he said.
“The public came in the morning and helped with the removal of the bodies.”
He said he thought the church was built in 1974.