Child (2) electrocuted to death

This tragedy comes after residents are still trying to come to terms with the grief of losing five members killed as a result of illegal electricity connections in separate incidents in the informal settlements in Reiger Park.

January 17, 2020

Fanie Mthupha 4 minutes read

The neighbour, Sendzekile Mthombeni, points to the dangerous izinyoka wires feeding the shacks around the area. "This is where the little boy lost his life. It's sad," she said.

A child (2) recently died after being electrocuted in Ramaphosa.

The two-year-old Prince Wisani Kona was, according to the police report and community members, seen playing with friends in his neighbour’s yard in Extension Two, Ramaphosa, before he was electrocuted by izinyoka (illegal electricity connection) near his home on January 8.

It is believed the child crawled to the neighbour’s yard and crawled towards the empty stand where he then came into contact with a live wire leading from the nearby council electricity utility into the shacks.

A woman, living in the shack into which the live wire fed, said she was still deeply shocked by the tragic death of the little one, and she still can’t help visualising the little child lying dead outside her yard.

The neighbour, Sendzekile Mthombeni, said she was in her neighbour’s yard when some of the children came running to report they have found Prince lying on the ground outside her yard.

She and other neighbours ran to the scene and found the child lying face down stuck to the live wire on the ground.

“When we got there, we thought he was asleep and tried to wake him up, but he was unresponsive. We later discovered he was lying on top of the uncovered live wire,” said Mthombeni.

An ambulance was called and paramedics declared him dead.

“I will never forget the tragic death of this child,” said a sobbing Mthombeni.

Reiger Park police spokesperson Const Zanele Motaung confirmed the incident, adding that an inquest docket had been registered.

ALSO READ: Family still looking for answers following child’s electrocution

Family

The Advertiser tried on numerous occasion to get comment from the family.

At first (January 14) the mother agreed to give comment, saying we should call her the following day as she was still busy with funeral arrangement. When we called the following day (January 15), all she could say before the telephone conversation was ended was her son had just exited their shack and followed one of his brothers towards the neighbour’s yard.

About two minutes after the child had left his home, the mother received the news that Prince had been found electrocuted.

The Advertiser got hold of a family member who introduced himself as the child’s eldest brother and he requested that the family be given at least a day to mourn and deal with the grief over the loss.

Further attempts to get more information from the family members proved fruitless.

Residents resort to izinyoka to access electricity

Mthombeni described the incident as a reminder of the dangers the illegal electricity connections pose to children in particular, but pointed out that the difficult situation brought by delays in bringing development in the area had forced many to turn to izinyoka.

“All of us here hate these wires because we know they are dangerous. But what can we do? Illegal electricity connections are our only option of escaping the expensive paraffin and candles. For most of us social grant is our only source of income.

“Politicians have all these years been sending people here to help us register for RDPs, but nothing has happened. I really hope government can come up with a plan to electrify our shacks so we can be able to buy electricity like other communities, as this may help end the issue of these dangerous wires,” said Mthombeni.

Both covered and uncovered live wires snake from the power utilities and criss-cross the streets and open spaces into the shacks, putting people’s lives in serious danger.

When asked if she considered removing the wires which are exposed to the children following the incident, Mthombeni said, firstly, she has no control over electrical lines as they belong to other people in the area, who supply electricity to the shacks. Secondly, the exposed part of the wire where the child was electrocuted is located outside of her property.

A community leader, Sunnyboy Senamela, who is also a member of the Reiger Park CPF, described the tragedy as a very painful experience for the child and his family.

“These live wires are obviously not safe for anyone, especially children,” he said.

According to community members who asked not to be named, there is a team of people in the Ramaphosa area who are cashing in on the situation by connecting the shacks to the power utilities and charge each client R250 per month.

On January 2, an illegal electricity connection line in Joe Slovo informal settlement claimed the life of another two-year-old child.

A three-year-old child died in hospital after getting an electric shock in the same informal settlement on December 28.

The area also saw the electrocution of two adults during winter as a result of izinyoka. Early in 2019, a woman was killed by izinyoka cable in the same settlement.

Widespread izinyoka problem

Joe Slovo, Ramaphosa, Delmore, Jerusalem, Kanana, Angelo and other informal settlements in the city are among the communities that have resorted to connecting wires to street lights and transformers to bring power to their shacks.

Such has sparked conflict between the perpetrators and residents of the nearby formal settlement, who have been complaining that the increasing izinyoka are not only costing the municipality, but they are also disturbing electricity flow in their areas, resulting in perpetual power outages.

The Advertiser is still awaiting comment from the metro regarding the electricity situations in the informal settlements.