Learner still learning to adjust after being electrocuted

An 11-year-old boy who was electrocuted last month still has trouble dealing with the trauma of what happened.

Sonwabo Bomseni from Top City in Ikageng was shocked by an exposed municipal cable outside Madibeng Primary School on Friday, 21 April 2022. According to his legal guardian, Buyelwa Bomseni, she was busy doing laundry when she got a call that he had been in an accident.

“I did not know what to think. I just stopped what I was doing and ran to the school,” she said. To her relief, Sonwabo was okay, but she struggled to clarify what happened. “We heard different versions, but, according to him, he was leaving the school when one of the learners pushed him. He leaned on the pole to regain his balance, and that is how he got shocked,” Buyelwa explained.

According to her, Sonwabo has not experienced any health issues since the incident, but he keeps reliving what happened. “He no longer wants to get involved with anything with electricity or light. Small moments like switching on the TV or lighting a candle now frighten him. Just recently, he started having nightmares about getting shocked at school,” she added.

Sonwabo’s uncle Mbulelo Bomseni said the family was surprised to learn that this was the second time a child had been shocked by the same cable. “What are the school or municipality doing about this matter? How many more children does this need to happen to before the matter is taken seriously,” he said.

The exposed cable is outside the school grounds. Acting municipal spokesperson Jeanette Tshite says the municipality went onsite to conduct an investigation. “During the investigation, officials learned that the incident happened after the learner had used a pair of scissors to cut the cable,” she said.

“They heard that an elderly person residing next to the school tried to warn and stop the particular learn-er on numerous occasions, but he ignored the warnings,” she added.

Tshite confirmed that the cable had been secured with a steel pipe to minimise easy access. “Even though officials of the municipality have secured the cable, they are unfortunately unable to control acts of vandalism that lead to numerous incidents,” she said.

“The municipality, therefore, takes this opportunity to appeal to the general public and particularly learners, to refrain from holding or interfering with electricity installations as these can be fatal,” Tshite warned.

“Children need to be monitored and supervised regularly, particularly around dangerous infrastructure like electrical equipment and installations,” she concluded. The Herald asked the Department of Education for comment but did not receive anything by the time of print.