Pupil who died on swimming trip ‘could not swim’

THE Pretoria pupil who died during a school swimming trip last Friday had not swam a day in his life.

Grade 6 pupil Mandla Chauke, 12, died when pupils from Refalotse Primary School in Winterveldt were swimming at Plot 184 Resort under the supervision of educators and some parents.

His uncle, John Chauke, said the pupil loved watching cartoons.

“He was the hope of the family. He was my sister Lydia’s only child, and one of 15 people living here in our home,” Chauke said.

He said the family was hurting, but they do not want to speculate and cause more pain by pointing fingers and assigning blame to the school or anyone else.

“We put a lot of hope in that child. That he will go to school, grow up and one day become something special in our community, and be able to change our circumstances. It cannot happen that way because when water has spilled, you cannot undo that. We cannot point fingers and say the school did that and somebody did not do something because we do not know what is going on.

“We are waiting for the results of a post-mortem examination to explain what happened. After that, then we can sit down with the school to talk.

“When it comes to what happened on the day, the school, those who were there, must be the ones that explain because we were not there. They should be the ones saying what happened to our child’s life. If I try to say some things, I will end up lying because I was not there. Right now, we are happy the department has come to see us.”

Gauteng Education MEC Matome Chiloane yesterday questioned whether or not schools should be taking pupils who could not swim on swimming trips.

“They can go to pools. Some pools can be shallow, but there needs to be a thorough supervision, and there should be lifeguards and people informing pupils here you cannot go, and this is where you can go.”

The Gauteng Department of Education is set to appoint an independent law firm to investigate the circumstances around the death.

Chiloane visited the Refalotse Primary School yesterday. He told an assembly of parents, educators and the child’s parents there were too many questions about the loss of the boy’s life that needed answering.

So far, the government had only been informed that Grade 6 pupils were accompanied by teachers and some parents. They were alerted by other learners that Mandla was no longer responsive. They removed him from the pool and tried to resuscitate him while waiting for emergency services and the police.