Pupil drowns

What was supposed to be a fun event for Grade 11 pupils of Mamphodo Secondary School ended in tragedy on Monday afternoon, when one of the pupils drowned.

The pupils from Gumela village outside Mutale finished their final exam paper earlier that day and went to relax and celebrate the end of the exams at the ancestral stream weir. The weir, called Maneledzi, is situated at Tshikotoni-Manzhenge near Gumela.

At the time of going to press, the circumstances around the death of the 20-year-old Nkhumeleni Milandu (20) were still sketchy and the police are investigating the event. The pupils arrived at about 16:00 at the weir and were in a relaxed mood, started to braai and dance. Several of them went into the water and, according to the pupils, Nkhumeleni was in the company of his girlfriend, Granny Thavhana.

It is alleged that Nkhumeleni decided to prove to her that he was the best swimmer. “We tried to stop him, but he insisted that he want to swim again,” said another pupil, who doesn’t want to be named. He suddenly vanished into the water and all attempts to rescue him were in vain. His body was recovered from the stream on Tuesday afternoon.

Nkhumeleni was earlier elected as the chairperson of his class’s Learning Representative Council (LRC) and was described as a happy person. He resided in Shakadza village outside Gumela but was staying with a relative in Gumela village during his school days.

The Maneledzi weir is regarded as an ancestral place by the communities around, because four villagers mysteriously drowned there about five years ago.

The principal, Mr Hosea Matodzi, said that the incident had left the school in a state of shock as Nkhumeleni was last seen alive on Monday when he brought some of his text books to school after they had completed their final examination. The police spokesperson in Mutale,  W/O Fhulufhelo Netshitongwe, confirmed the incident and said they had opened an inquest docket.

Nkhumeleni’s mother, Ms Tshifhiwa Randima, is still in shock and mourning after the incident, and said they were expecting good things from him as he had shown the family that he took his education seriously. She also said the family was devastated about the incident, and no one was working. They depend on odd jobs and anyone willing to help the family to bury Nkhumeleni can phone her at 072 637 4206.

News - Date: 28 November 2014

Silas Nduvheni

Email: