Just over a month has passed since the unfortunate power leakage that caused the untimely death of three-year old Mikyle Jacobs in Westbury. Mikyle was instantly electrocuted when he touched the burglar bars of his home, unbeknown that allegedly, a power leakage from a nearby power box had caused the burglar bars to become electrified.
Since then the family has suffered immeasurable grief and doubt that their lives would ever be the same again. Father of the household Randy Jacobs expressed his grief and emotional hardship of losing his son, ”I still can’t believe that a month has passed since my boy’s death, it is so unreal.”
DA Gauteng Provincial Leader John Moodey recently paid a visit to the Jacobs family to lend some moral support and to offer reassurance. Moodey expressed his deepest sympathies to the family, pointing out that this incident is inexcusable. ”The area surrounding the home is supposed to be a safe public space. These instances of power leakages are indeed a serious danger to the community and it’s a miracle that more children haven’t injured themselves as well. It is troubling to see that little has been done in terms of an investigation from City Power about these leakages.”
Chairperson of Ward 69 Chahracan Amod felt sympathy for the grieving family’s loss and felt that paying the family a visit and offering them moral support was a necessary cause.
“The family has suffered a double blow of not just losing a son but also being without power for more than a month now – since City Power removed them from the main gird. Residents in the area have often reported the dangers of exposed power leakages. Maintenance needs to be an ongoing process. I also want to mention that Ward 69 councillor Katja Naumann has been providing emotional support for the family from day one,” he said.
Jacobs expressed the family’s appreciation, ”We are very blessed to have Mr Moodey and the community come to see us during this very difficult time. We hope that this visit will raise awareness in the community.”
Moodey reassured the family that the DA will sponsor a qualified electrician to come out to the Jacobs’ home to determine the fault of the power leakage. ”If the fault was indeed caused by poorly maintained power boxes then City Power needs to be held accountable for this incident,” he said.
