HA-MANABELA - Two families from Ha-Manabela were shattered on Monday afternoon, after two young boys drowned while swimming in the Muegedzi River earlier that afternoon.

After knocking off from school, a group of young boys from Ha-Manabela walked about 20km to swim in the Muegedzi, also known as the Sand River. At the river, they met other teens of their age group from Tshikwarani village, who were also swimming. While in the water, two of the boys, aged 11 and 12 years, started to drown. Realising that they could not help their friends, the group picked up their clothes and run away. According to the police, the boys were shocked and upon their arrival at home, they remained tight-lipped and only later revealed that two of their friends had drowned.

The two families then went to Tshilwavhusiku SAPS. On Tuesday, it took divers from Polokwane less than 20 minutes to recover the bodies of the boys. The two boys were discovered clinging to each other. The deceased are Matodzi Ratshilingana, who was in Grade 7, while Ntsieni Mavhandu was in Grade 3, both at Manabela Primary School. A teacher from the school, Mrs IN Mathelemusa, described them as two of the school's bright students and told Mirror that it was very sad for the school to loose its students, especially during the examination period. “We will miss the two, but to prevent this from happening again, we will tell others to stop playing in the rivers,” she said.

Insp TS Mamburu, communication officer of the Tshilwavhusiku SAPS, confirmed that an inquest docket had been opened at the station. He said that the station will be embarking on a campaign of visiting local schools in order to tell children not to play in streams, rivers and dams.

Musanda Vho-Herbert Nkhangweni Manabela said that, as a matter of urgency, there will be a community meeting aimed at informing parents to caution their children about the dangers of playing in rivers. “As the Makhado Municipality, we are extending our greatest sympathy to the grieving families,” said Ward 2 councillor Norman Mabila. On behalf of the bereaved families, Mr Alpheus Mavhandu said that what happened to them is very bad and painful. “However, we have accepted the untimely death of these two boys,” he said. Mavhandu confirmed to Mirror that the two families have not yet started with the funeral arrangements, saying that whosoever wants to assist can contact him at 082 951 3257.