Drowning victim at Inkanyezi Special School identified
Family, pupils and staff had been searching for the missing pupil since the previous afternoon
The young boy who was found drowned at the Inkanyezi special needs school on Thursday has been identified. Police have positively identified him as eight-year-old Nhanhla Sabelo Shoba.
Police have stressed that the water in which the young boy drowned was clear water and not sewer water, as was initially reported. The boy drowned in a water reservoir tank, slightly above ground level.
“Warrant Officer Jacques Meyer, who responded to the scene, could see clearly to the bottom of the tank,” commented police spokesperson Captain Charmaine Struwig.
At this stage, it is unclear how the boy was able to gain access into the reservoir tank and an inquest into his death has been opened for investigation.
Family, pupils and staff had been searching for the missing pupil since the previous afternoon.
The alarm was raised when a taxi driver who normally collects several pupils from the school noticed that one of his charges was not waiting to be picked up.
A search of the classroom revealed that the boy’s school bag was still there. He was then spotted floating in the reservoir tank by teachers, who then contacted the police for assistance.
The Department of Education, in a statement released to national media on Friday, incorrectly gave Nhanhla Sabelo Shoba’s age as 12 years old. They also stated that he was trapped in a steel container.
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