Municipal-made dam claims another life
Man’s body found floating in excavated area
Adeadly municipal-made dam – formed by abandoned sewerage infrastructure earthworks – has claimed a second life, say people from Barrax shanty town.
Chris Hani District Municipality spokesperson Bulelwa Ganyaza said businesses had caused repeated blockages to a sewer line, which led to sewage spills in the area.
A contractor had started excavating the site and the issue was being attended to.
Ganyaza said the incident was “highly regrettable”.
She said fat deposits from food processing businesses clogged the sewers.
“Excavation was undertaken. A service provider appointed by the municipality had to deal with recurring sewer spillages. The matter is being attended to and a municipal delegation has visited the family.”
Xolani Sobantu, 58, a hardworking family man, went missing after work on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, his body was found floating near the surface of the pond.
Barrax residents are angry about the dangerous pond and said they were contemplating legal action.
The muddy pond is in an open field near the taxi rank and has a path running along its edges and a deceptive channel which people sometimes try to jump across.
Residents, who helped recover the body after 7pm on Wednesday, said another person
was found dead in the dam in 2023.
They said after the first body was found, it had been drained.
Sobantu’s distressed family were upset that no government official had visited them.
His sister, Lindiwe Sobantu Mabona, said: “We are deeply saddened by Sobantu’s death.
“He was a hardworking man who was providing for our family.
“It’s very painful to think he died this way. It’s even more upsetting that the municipality has not been in contact with us since the incident. They have been completely silent.”
Sobantu’s relative, Pakamile Vellem, wanted to know why no safety barricade had been erected since it was obvious the pond was a danger to the public.
The family are also worried about how they will pay for the funeral costs as Sobantu did not have funeral cover.
Vellem said they were considering legal action.
Sobantu’s brother, Lindile,
said when he did not return home from work they became worried, as it was not like him.
He started searching for his brother and on Thursday word came that his body was found in the earthworks dam.
Resident Amanda Madze said when word got out that another body was found in the dam, residents mobilised to try help.
“People thought it was a schoolchild. We shone a torch on the water and saw a black bag with a red zip floating on the surface.”
Resident Xabiso Sana, who pulled the body from the water, said: “This was not the first time someone has drowned in the dam. It was already after 7pm.
“We saw the bag floating near a mound of mud. I went for the bag and struggled. I decided to lie down on my belly and stretched to reach it.
“When I got hold of the bag it was heavy.
“I reached my hand further into the water and realised this was a person’s body.”
The group then pulled the body out of the water.
They called the police and two officers arrived and told them that they should not have taken the body out of the water.
“They chased us away and said they were waiting for bigger authorities and got in the police vehicle and switched off the lights.”
Madze said the water never subsided, even in dry periods.
He said an Aliwal North man drowned in the pond last year.
Madze had asked a councillor to get the pond fenced off, but this was refused.
He said trucks were brought in to pump the pond dry and forensic experts were called to remove the body.