Limpopo toddler suffocates under mattress

PHALABORWA – The family of one-year-old Hlulani Xolani Sithole is mourning his tragic death after a mattress allegedly fell on him while under the care of a relative.

The shocking incident occurred on Monday, August 25, in Humulani village, when a mattress, leaning against a window in the room where the toddler was playing, fell on the child, causing him to suffocate. Little Hlulani was declared dead on the scene.

The family remains shattered, with unanswered questions surrounding the cause of their toddler’s death.

Hlulani, the fifth-born child in the family, had recently celebrated his first birthday on Friday, August 1. He was laid to rest on Thursday, August 28, in the village.

At the time of the incident, Hlulani and his older sibling (21 months old) were under the care of their aunt, who had asked for the job and was hired to look after the children while their parents were at work.

The caregiver was responsible for the children daily from 07:00 to 17:00. According to the toddler’s mother, Jesta Sithole, the children had been in her care for only three weeks when the tragic incident happened.

The grieving mother said she is struggling to come to terms with the loss.

“I was shattered when I heard that my child was no more. The sad thing is that he had just turned a year old. I am numb. I feel like I am losing my mind,” she shared.

“It just does not make sense how he died. What I want to understand right now is how my little boy was injured. We have not yet received the post-mortem results, and this worries me deeply because I still do not know the cause of his death. I want to know what took his last breath,” she continued.

She also mentioned that she had planned to enrol her children in a registered daycare at the start of the month.

“I was planning to take both my children to a registered daycare centre on Monday, September 1. Unfortunately, God had other plans. I am deeply heartbroken,” said Sithole.

Sithole further explained that she and her husband, Jan Ubisi, were both at work when they received a call to return home urgently.

“We were shocked to see police vans and ambulances when we arrived, and the police were busy writing. I was only told that a mattress fell on my child,” she said.

Ubisi, equally devastated, described the difficulty of losing a child so suddenly.

“I am heartbroken. Maybe as time goes on, I will learn to cope, but it will not be easy,” he said.

He further explained that the family has not yet had direct communication with the caregiver, although her father visited them to address the incident.

SAPS spokesperson Brigadier Hlulani Mashaba confirmed the incident.

According to police, the caregiver told them she had left the toddler playing inside the house, where a mattress had been leaned against a window.

She went outside to cook, and upon returning, found that the mattress had fallen on the child, leaving him unresponsive. Paramedics were called but certified the toddler dead at the scene.

Investigations into the incident are ongoing.