AbaQulusi Municipal worker dies

NO ONE at AbaQulusi Municipality will divulge the details, but a municipal worker fell to his death, probably on the Wednesday of the week of the Mayfair.

He did so in Cecil Emmett Hall where he fell from a ladder while attempting to repair the lights high in the roof of the hall’s ceiling.

We must reiterate, nothing has been confirmed by the municipality, but information is that the man, possibly named Dlamini, suffered severe brain injuries in the accident, and was admitted to Vryheid Hospital where he was considered “brain dead”. That was the rumour.

A day or two later, he died.

On Thursday, May 8, the Vryheid Herald asked the Mayor, the Municipal Manager and the Media Liaison Officer for comment, also sending the e-mail to the Records Department, where it was given the tracking Document Number 45195. The e-mail was not acknowledged by anyone.

On Wednesday last week, the Acting Municipal Manager verbally acknowledged receipt of the e-mail, and said that the municipality was still investigating the incident, but that he would send a response. At the time of going to press, no response had been received. Nor has there been an expression of regret to the family of the man.

It has been learned that the ladder device used to access the high ceiling at Cecil Emmett has been moved to the old municipal Clinic building – the Fire Station. Whether this is part of the investigation is not known.

But the rumour is that the man who fell to his death was not qualified to do the repairs, and was sent up the ladder because the responsible electrician was too unfit (the rumour is “fat”) to do the physical exercise required to climb to that height. The rumour is that the man did not use a safety harness which apparently is required for the job. It is mostly rumour.

The workers themselves are forbidden to talk to the media.

But the fact remains, a man died at Cecil Emmett, and he worked for the municipality.