Families of children who died after being electrocuted slam Umsunduzi officials

The families of three children who died on Saturday after they were electrocuted have criticized uMsunduzi municipal officials.

They said failure to provide adequate housing and amenities for residents of the Jika Joe informal settlement in Pietermaritzburg contributed to the fatalities.

The bodies of six-year-old Gift Dlamini and eight-year-olds Ernest Dekwa and Buhlebuyeza Jili were recovered from a stream, which had electric cable placed in the water.

Residents of the Jika Joe informal settlement have told Eyewitness News that Dlamini, Jili and Dekwa were playing with two other children when they decided to jump into the stream at the weekend.

While two children survived, one is reportedly traumatised by the incident and requires psychological intervention.

Mduduzi Luthuli recovered the bodies of the children: “This incident has really devastated the community, everyone is hurt.”

Meanwhile, local councillor Suraya Reddy has criticized uMsunduzi city officials including Mayor Mzimkhulu Thebolla.

“Because this is a DA-run ward, I find that whenever I make a request for the ward, it wouldn’t come or I would have to beg for it. Let’s take, for example, the matter of these three kids, this happened on Saturday and we haven’t had anybody from the city to come through.”

At the same time, KwaZulu-Natal Cooperative Governance MEC Sipho Hlomuka has called for a thorough investigation into the deaths of the three boys.

-EWN

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