Tragic: Missing Boy Found Dead

Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Monday September 4, 2017 18:00

 

Our first stop was at the police station at 10:30am. We asked to see the Station Commander, but were told he was out at the Dithubaruba Cultural event venue helping with preparations. We were told to wait for him, but we opted to visit the family home of the missing child at Lekgwapheng ward and the destroyed property.

At the family home, we found scores of villagers outside the compound. Some of them were negotiating with the police asking them to take them to where the child, Oarabile Lekgoanyana allegedly went missing when he went to fetch firewood with his father.

Right next to the family home is the destroyed guest house, which belongs to a person said to be good friends to the father of the missing child. It had been turned upside down; electric fence destroyed, all windows shattered, doors broken down and it seemed like the mob wanted to do more, but the heavy police presence barred them.

We went over to family members who had gathered in front of the house to get the lowdown of what really transpired. The mother of the child was said to be in the house while the father was not present. It was left to the little boy’s aunt to tell us what transpired. “The boy went with his father to fetch firewood as they always go together. The father told us that after getting into the veldt, he could not find the boy by the donkey cart where he had left him. He told us that he called out and he answered once, but he could not find him. He then called us at around 7pm, telling us he could not find the boy and the search has been on since then,” she said.

The aunt said it was after some police officers advised them to seek help from churches and traditional healers that they then started looking for help. “A Sangoma woman and a ZCC man told us the child was taken by our neighbour. We hear that the mob was angered by the fact that the neighbour would not open all of the rooms when they requested him to and resorted to stoning his property,” she said.

Shortly after our interview, the police arrived and whisked the mother and other family members away for an update. Moments after they left, The Monitor team followed them to the police station to check on the station commander for an update. As we waited to be assisted at the station, the family emerged led by senior officials to the car. The mother was crying uncontrollably while the rest of the family members were visibly in pain. We decided to bunk our mission to see the station commander and followed the police vehicles carrying the family and senior police officials.

We made sure to tail the speeding police vans through a bumpy dusty road for about 30 minutes in our small Toyota Yaris hatchback. We finally arrived at Dithejwane lands wells where the boy and his father had gone to gather firewood. The father was already there with other family members. He and the mother were rolling on the ground, crying inconsolably.

We had to wait for about 30 minutes for more senior officials to arrive at the scene. We then advanced to a nearby well where scuba-divers emerged with the lifeless body of the boy from the well. With the clothing he had on intact, the body appeared muddy and the police also took a two-litre bottle he was suspected to have tried using to fetch water for drinking. Though he was deeply hurt, the father could finally find peace that those who accused him of selling his son had nothing more to say, as it was apparent that an accident took his son’s life.

The little boy’s body was put in a police van after the family viewed it before we all headed back to Molepolole. Back in Molepolole, the police had to disperse the crowd with teargas.

Lekgoanyana’s aunt, Malebogo Kehakae said her sister’s son was very close to his father, and it was not the first time they went to collect firewood together.

“We don’t think his father had anything to do with our son’s death. It has to be clear that we did not call the sangoma or ZCC prophet who came to accuse our neighbour.

The crowd became furious because of the two who had alleged that our son is in our neighbour’s yard for ritual purpose. We were numb when the prophet and sangoma told us,” she said.  

Kehakae said they had been having a good relationship with their neighbour and the crowd became furious when the neighbour refused to open the guesthouse storeroom, which the sangoma suspected the child was in.

The deputy public relations officer, Senior Superintendent Dipheko Motube confirmed that the missing child was found on Friday.

“We have arrested five people who are facing a single charge of inciting violence. The five suspects will appear before the magistrate soon, Amongst the five people, three are female and two are male,” Dipheko said.