Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Cousins die huddled in their burning home
‘To lose two children in a fire ... it’s too much’
TWO cousins died huddled together in a corner when a blaze engulfed their home in Enkanini in Khayelitsha yesterday.
The minors, aged 8 and 11, were asleep while Ntombekhaya Mbutho walked her colleagues to the bus stop at 5.30am. They were found in the corner on the bed covered under heaps of clothing.
“We think they were trying to protect themselves from the fire with the clothes hoping that the fire would be put out before it got to them. But the layers of clothing burnt with them,” their tearful aunt Nikiwe Mbutho said.
Fire and Rescue spokesperson Theo Layne confirmed the incident but said the cause of the fire had yet to be determined. Police spokesman Captain FC van Wyk said an inquest docket had been opened.
Nikiwe’s son, 15- year- old Wawa, was also sleeping in the shack when the fire broke out but he managed to escape unharmed.
“He was in another room when the fire started. He then ran to the gate to try to call for help. He tried to get the others out but the fire was just too much in the doorway and they could not get past it. He cried out saying he could not find the key so some men broke the gate open and he managed to get out. We could not go in for the children,” she said.
Mbutho said she could not save her son, 8-year-old Lindokuhle. According to witnesses, when Mbutho arrived from walking her colleagues to the bus stop, she tore out some iron sheets to get to the bedroom where the children had been sleeping.
“She saw feet, but when she tried to go in to pull the children out by their legs the fire got bigger and she could not get to them,” said neighbour Mandisa Basini.
According to Basini, the pair had screamed briefly.
“They screamed about three times shouting for Ntombekhaya to come to get them, then they stopped. I think they had inhaled too much smoke at that time because when the door was opened the amount of smoke which came out was just too much,” she said.
“Inathi (Xolo) was a lovely girl, she loved school and enjoyed dancing. We had great hopes for her; she was such a joy to be around. Death is never expected but to lose two children in a horrific fire like that is just too much,” said Nikiwe.
Mbutho returned home from work just after 2am; the transport they were travelling in broke down along Spine Road and her colleagues went home with her to wait for dawn. The group of Col’Cacchio employees had stayed up around a paraffin heater to keep warm.
“When they started hearing voices after 5am they decided they would walk to the main road to catch a taxi,” said Mbutho. The group left the four-room shack and Nikiwe put the heater in the bedroom where the children had been sleeping to get it warm before they woke up for school. When she returned from the 100m walk, her home was on fire.
asanda.sokanyile@inl.co.za