‘We want our children’s bodies’
AFTER searching for close to a month, a family living in Wushwini, Kwangcolosi, near Hillcrest, have accepted that their three children are no longer alive.
According to the Gumbi family, Lubanzi, 8, Asanda, 13, and Slindokuhle, 13, were washed away on April 11, at a time when heavy rains fell in various parts of Kwazulu-natal.
While they have accepted the fate of the children, the family felt the government and Umgeni Water could have done more to assist them in finding their bodies.
Kwanele Gumbi, the children’s uncle, described the hopelessness of their search efforts: “With help from members of the community, we searched with our bare hands. Our searches yielded four bodies, but none were our missing children.
“Food vouchers are being offered to us. That is not our primary concern right now. We want to recover our missing children’s bodies.”
They yearned for a proper searchand-rescue team to be dispatched to their area since the children went missing. Now, they have been forced to consider the cost of hiring an excavator to assist them in their search.
On the night of April 11, the three missing children, their mother, Mano Gumbi, and another sibling, Mandisa, were asleep in the home they had been living in since December, when its construction was completed.
The family claimed that an uprooted water pipe crashed into the roof of the Gumbis’ house, causing the building to collapse.
All five of them were washed away. Fortunately for Mandisa and Mano, they landed on a tree and clung onto a branch until they were rescued by community members.
The three missing children are counted among the 63 people who are believed to be still missing.
Kwanele Gumbi reported that Mano and her daughter were still in hospital, in a critical condition.
Desperate for closure, Gumbi said: “We are on week four this weekend. We still don’t have a satisfying sense that a thorough search was done and all possible options were explored.
“There has been no help from any level of government or local authorities, not even the offer of psychotherapy to those in need.”
During a media briefing session on Tuesday, Premier Sihle Zikalala said search-and-rescue teams had attended to 542 calls so far, recovered 62 bodies and rescued 164 people.
“As of today, 19 113 households have been affected by the disaster wherein 128 743 people were affected. Sadly, 435 people lost their lives and, to date, 63 are still reported missing. A total of 6 814 people are currently homeless as a result of this disaster,” Zikalala said.
Umgeni Water spokesperson Shami Harichunder said that following the floods a senior Umgeni Water manager had tried, unsuccessfully, to ascertain the whereabouts of the Gumbi family.
He said they had difficulty in reaching the family because their home was destroyed by the impact of the heavy rains and a rock fall, but they eventually reached a family representative.
“There was an acknowledgement by the relative that assistance in the search would be welcomed.”
Harichunder said Umgeni Water was in discussion with the police on how assistance could be provided for those reported missing and was awaiting their response.