2-year-old Khayelitsha boy dies after falling into drain outside his home
The police have opened an inquest docket into the death of a 2-year-old boy after he fell into a drain outside his home in Greenpoint, Khayelitsha, on Sunday.
Police spokesperson Warrant Officer Joseph Swartbooi said the circumstances surrounding the incident which happened on Sunday at about 2.20 pm were being investigated.
Swartbooi said that according to reports the body of Imthande Swaartbooi was discovered in a drain as it was believed the toddler fell into it.
“The victim was declared deceased on the scene. The body has been sent for an autopsy to determine the cause of death,” he said.
The child’s uncle, Nkosikhona Swaartbooi said the child was discovered by his mother, Busisiwe Swaartbooi, as she had been looking for him around the house.
He said the drain was right outside his family home, and had been left open.
“Imthande was not the first child to drown in that drain but is, unfortunately, the first one to die as a result of the City’s negligence in failing to fix broken, blocked, and overflowing drains in poor working-class communities,” said Nkosikhona.
He said that despite Greenpoint residents repeatedly asking the municipal trucks operating in the area to fix and cover the drain, the City had continued to ignore those requests.
The Cape Argus has contacted the City. It has yet to respond to the allegations by the family.
The drain has now been closed. It took between 2-4 hours for it to be closed yesterday, only after the tragic death of the 2-year old. The loss of life of a Black child could have been prevented had the City really cared. The Mayor visited the family today to pay his respects pic.twitter.com/eG9EWbgW3C
— Axolile Notywala (@Xila_Notywala) August 30, 2021
-Cape Argus
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