Focus falls on water safety during funeral

A call was made to residents of Itsani and Shayandima outside Thohoyandou to join forces to ensure that the Tshidumbi River, which flows between the communities, is safe and clean.

This follows the drowning of five-year-old Idani Kachepa Mulaudzi, a Grade R learner at the local Matitivhale Primary School. He drowned behind the church last Saturday, while his mother and two others were busy cleaning the church in preparation for a service the following day.

The boy was playing with his twin, Ipfani, when the incident took place.

Speaking during the funeral, community leader Angeline Mudau of the local Sanco urged the communities of Shayandima not to spare resources in seeing that the river was kept safe "as children are the victims of the river."

She also urged residents to keep the water of the river unpolluted, saying it was so polluted because litter that was dumped there made it no longer safe for use. "This is one of the few rivers that are still alive in this area. We appreciate its existence here, but we have a big challenge of children and even elderly people found floating here. As a community, we should not turn a blind eye when things are not running smoothly, especially if it involves the loss of life."

Mudau further indicated that she was not pleased about what was happening at the river. "Despite putting the 'no dumping' signs along the river, dead dogs, cats and other rubbish are dumped on a daily basis. Idani's death is a wake-up call that came dearly to us," she added.

On behalf of the family, Mr Malondi Mulaudzi, an uncle of the deceased and also principal of the local Magalangwe Secondary School, said death had robbed them of a very intelligent boy, whose future was destined to be bright.

In his sermon, Pastor Mamello Moiloa of the Seventh Day Adventist Church told mourners to put all their trust in God as He is in control of all situations.

Date:19 September 2016

By: Elmon Tshikhudo

Elmon Tshikhudo started off as a photographer. He developed an interest in writing and started submitting articles to local as well as national publications. He became part of the Limpopo Mirror family in 2005 and was a permanent part of the news team until 2019.

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