Community left devastated at the memorial service of five Naledi children

The five children who passed away due to suspected food poisoning last weekend were remembered in a moving and emotional memorial service on Friday, October 11.

The memorial service was held at the Naledi Community Hall and was attended by teachers, learners, representatives of various political parties and government officials.

Emotional scenes played out when learners from the schools attended by the deceased paid tribute to their peers.

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Speakers emphasised the importance of going back to religious practices and bringing God back to schools.

“I feel like there is something wrong with Naledi. Last year in October we buried children who died the same way and here we are today grieving the loss of life. We need to bring back prayer to our schools and make sure that as parents and the community at large, we protect our children,” said Busi Mnguni-Msimango, a representative of one of the grieving families.

Njabulo Msimango’s Grade One teacher at Karabo Primary School said it still hurts to realise that he is no more.

“However, I am grateful for the time I spent with him as his teacher. Njabulo was an energetic and happy child who had a zeal to learn,” she said.

Dimakatso Mkhize, who was Zinhle Maama’s teacher, described her as a child who had a beautiful soul and always greeted her with a beautiful smile every time she entered class.

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“Zinhle was a high achiever who enjoyed learning more than anything else. She interacted well with other learners and it was also easy to reprimand her because she was not a disrespectful child,” said Mkhize.

All teachers of the other learners took their turn to pay tributes to the diseased.

Families of the deceased are yet to come to terms with their loss as authorities investigate the cause of the deaths.

It is not the first time an incident of this nature has happened in Naledi as two children died in October last year after eating biscuits bought from a foreign-owned spaza shop.