Mother traumatised after child falls into manhole

Linnet Kwenda, the mother of Brayden Madzvimbo, is still in distress days after the four-year-old was pulled out of an open manhole in the Benoni CBD on April 16.

Brayden fell into the manhole concealed by overgrown grass, next to a traffic light on the corner of Bedford Avenue and Tom Jones Street, while waiting to cross the road with his father, Rodwell, and elder brother.

“I’m still traumatised and confused. For days, I couldn’t eat. As a family, this incident has affected us badly,” Linnet said.

According to her, the family was walking up Tom Jones Street from Lakeside Mall. She crossed to the other side first while her husband remained with the boys, waiting for the traffic light to turn green.

She said her husband called out to her to ask her to buy something from a nearby shop while Brayden stepped closer to the traffic light, attempting to get her attention, but fell into the manhole.

“His elder brother told his father Brayden had disappeared into the hole. I could hear him screaming and calling out his dad’s name. When I got here, I asked my husband why he just standing by and not getting in to pull Brayden out. But the onlookers said he was already gone,” she said.

Linnet ignored them and decided she will jump in to retrieve her son, but Rodwell made the daring rescue when he got in and found the toddler passed out and submerged in sewage.

“People kept saying my son was dead because he was unconscious. I waited for about 10 minutes before going to check on him. He had regained consciousness.”

“We took him to wash him properly and then went to the pharmacy next to where we live, but they said they can’t prescribe anything without a letter from the clinic. We went to the Dis-Chem clinic, and they said he wasn’t sick,” said Linnet.

But Brayden started vomiting two days later and when he became weak and unresponsive, Linnet rushed him to  Tambo Memorial Hospital, where he was admitted for four days after being diagnosed with lung and chest infection, dehydration and bronchopneumonia.

The mother of three explained the exposed sewer hole was invisible because of the long grass, adding it was a miracle her son survived.

“If we weren’t here, we wouldn’t have seen he had fallen in. Imagine if they were alone. It is a miracle we managed to pull him out.”

Brayden is recovering but still complains of stomach pains. The residents have since put a concrete slab on the manhole and cut the grass surrounding it.

‘Municipality must do something’

Rodwell said there are many exposed manholes in the CBD and called on the City of Ekurhuleni (CoE) to close these swiftly before someone loses their life.

“I am shocked and scared my boy may have become infected by something that could trouble him for the rest of his life.

“I still can’t believe what happened that day. The municipality must do something about all the exposed manholes because they are a danger to residents,” he said.

A resident who commented anonymously blamed the municipality for what happened to Brayden.

“I’m not happy with the municipality. Look at the bush here. This one surrounding the manhole where the child fell is very dangerous. If it had been cut, the child wouldn’t have fallen in,” he said.

Another resident accused the CoE of failing to execute its duties.

“I am angry with our municipality and the government. They are not doing their job. What if the children were alone? I’m disappointed. Why are they failing us as the citizens of this country?” she asked

Metro responds

Municipal spokesperson Zweli Dlamini blamed the matter on the theft of the manhole cover, adding that it was never reported to them.

“The manhole cover might have been stolen and it was never reported to the city, so we did not know about it,” he said.

Dlamini insisted theft was to blame when asked if the child would have seen the open manhole had the grass been cut.

“The city learns about the manhole covers as and when they are brought to its attention. If the cover was stolen, there is little we can do. The main problem is theft rather than the grass.”

The spokesperson said they constantly replace the missing and damaged covers across Benoni and advised the community to report these to the city.

“The department is constantly replacing missing and damaged manhole covers across Benoni Service Delivery Area (SDA) as and when required. However, we further implore the community to report these on 0860 543 000 or the My COE App so we get to know about them timeously and fix them.

“The department will do a site inspection and install the missing manhole covers.”

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