MASIBEKELA – The body of the 12-year-old boy who drowned on Sunday was found by police divers on Tuesday morning.
Mazwi Maphalala drowned on Sunday afternoon when he was swimming with friends in a nearby river where local residents get water.
News of the boy’s accident made national headlines on Monday, and community members blamed it on the municipality’s failure to supply the community with water.
According to the spokesman for Nkomazi Municipality, Mr Cyril Ripinga, cable theft has recently left this community without water as transformers have been without power.
Residents alleged that even before the cable theft, water supply was a challenge for the community and they had to get their own water from the river.
Meanwhile the boy’s family was relieved that his body had been recovered and the municipality promised to assist the family with burial arrangements.
Ripinga said, “The municipality is in discussions with the family on how it can assist them in laying their loved one to rest.”
Meanwhile the community hopes that the municipality will provide a permanent solution for their water-supply problems.
Furthermore the Tonga Police Station has issued a warning to Nkomazi residents to avoid swimming in rivers.
This comes after the police have received a high number of drowning reports in the past two weeks.
Ripinga reiterated the municipality’s call for communities to avoid swimming in dams and rivers, and pleaded with parents to warning their children against this.
