Joyful laughter turned into screams of terror when a 16-year-old boy, Ronald Tshilimandila, who was swimming in a stream at Tshirolwe Extension 2, drowned last Friday.

According to eyewitnesses, several boys were swimming in the stream when Ronald apparently ventured into the deeper side. When Ronald’s three friends realised he was in trouble, they tried to save his life, but the water was too deep and too murky. They then decided to run to the settlement to attract the attention of fellow community members. The police were called, but when they arrived at the scene it was already dark and the boy was nowhere to be found.

Community and family members slept at the stream until police divers arrived the following day (Saturday). When the divers arrived at the scene, they could do little more than retrieve the body.

In a similar incident at Ramavhoya last Friday, a grade 8 pupil from Mphephu High, the 16-year-old Thabelo Ramaremisa, drowned while swimming in the Nzhelele river.

Insp Lazarus Netshidzati, the communications officer of the Mphephu SAPS, said police were investigating the drowning incident. He appealed to children not to play alongside streams and on river banks or to swim without the supervision of older people. He said that the station will be embarking on a campaign of visiting villages in order to tell children not to play in streams, rivers and dams. He said most of the smaller dams, streams and rivers had filled up considerably after the good rains. The children drown after misjudging the depth of dams and the strength of currents in the rivers.

With the very hot weather currently being experienced around the province, the police say they expect that more children will try to cool down by going for a swim. Although they regularly swim in groups, it was found that, in most cases, the victims did not know how to swim. The police urged members of the community to make sure that an adult who knows how to swim accompanies children.

The grieving father of the late Ronald Tshilimandila, Mr Phineas Tshilimandila, told Mirror that his son was hoping to study hard, so that he would pursue his dream of becoming a lawyer. According to Thabelo’s father, Mr David Ramaremisa, Thabelo’s dream was to become a doctor.

Cllr Masunga Makhera expressed his condolences to the two families and warned children to avoid playing next to rivers, dams and streams. He called upon all parents to watch out when their children are playing, especially when they do so near water. The two will be buried on Saturday at Ramavhoya and Tshirolwe at 06:00.