Family, community seek justice for Michael

The civil lawsuit against the Department of Basic Education and the Limpopo Department of Education following the death of Michael Komape, (5), who drowned in human waste as he fell in a dilapidated pit toilet at Mahlodumela Primary School in Chebeng Village, Moletjie on 20 January 2014 is continuing at the Limpopo High Court.
The case is set down for three weeks and Section 27 is acting as the family’s legal representative with Vincent Maleka as Senior Counsel, while the state is represented by Simon Phaswane. The court was full of Chebeng residents, clad in white T-shirts with the logo #Justice4Michael, who came to support the family and seek justice for Michael.
According to Section 27 Spokesperson Nomatter Ndebele, Michael’s mother Rosina on Tueday told the court that she felt aggrieved that no one from the department offered them any support, even after the funeral. She testified that she had thought they would come and enquire how the family was doing, but there had been none of that. Ndebele further highlighted that Rosina spoke in detail about the pain she and her family had suffered after the loss of the child. Phaswane asked her why she had declined the state’s compensation offer and she said: “Money runs out. If you said to me do you want your child back or money, I would have chosen my child.”
Rosina was followed by her husband, James who reportedly started his testimony by explaining what happened when he discovered that his son died. He had asked a neighbour to take photographs of the scene but the neighbour was later forced by a group of teachers and some authorities to delete all the pictures claiming that they don’t want the news of what had happened to go to court, he reportedly said.
Maleka started the proceedings on Monday by saying the department had failed in ensuring that schools infrastructure was at the right standard to avoid such incidents from occurring. He said the community came out in numbers as a way of seeking justice for Michael which will ensure that the same incident does not reoccur. “The school governing body was concerned about the structure of the toilet but nothing was done to build a better one.
“The evidence we have will also reveal that there has been a number of protests and a memorandum was presented and the two departments promised to do something about the pit toilet system but nothing has been done,” he stated.
He further indicated that the department has a lot of money and often underspends its budget hence they can’t tell the court that they don’t have enough money to build better toilets.
Ndebele said in a statement that about 1,7 million learners in Limpopo are forced to attend their lessons in inappropriate and unsafe infrastructure, using unsafe and unhygienic toilets, and without all of their basic learning materials such as textbooks and furniture.
Ndebele said: “Michael’s death was caused by a continued disregard for his safety. The state, from senior people such as the Minister of Basic Education and the MEC for Education in Limpopo, all the way through to the principal and teachers at Mahlodumela, violated Michael’s rights to dignity, life and safety. They also breached their duties owed to parents to protect their children. When parents send their children to school every day they hand over their trust to ensure that their children will be safe and their needs met. The state has breached these obligations in their most basic sense and has been unapologetic about doing so.”
The Komape family is therefore seeking an award of damages, as well as a declaration by the court as to the rights violated, which will have the effect of clarifying the state’s obligations regarding school sanitation.”

Story: ENDY SENYATSI
>>endy@observer.co.za