Gauteng toddler who got injured at pre-shool laid to rest

“He brought so much joy and light to his mother and me that every memory of him lightens our hearts,” said Ntaote Mokhele, the father of deceased two-year-old Kganya Mokhele.

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The Little Ashford Senderwood pre-schooler was declared dead upon arrival at Linksfield Hospital on the morning of March 7 after a shelf reportedly fell on him in a classroom.

At the time of the incident, four staff members including the school’s principal were allegedly present with the learners in the room.

“He reminisced how Kganya loved the baby shark song. “It will live in our hearts forever as he loved it and would sing it every day.”

He said when he got the call from the school he thought his son was badly injured.

“I imagined him in pain crying for his parent,” Ntaote said.

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“When I got the second call that’s when I realised it must be serious but I did not think it was a fatal one,” said the grieving father.

The family has described Kganya as a happy and intelligent child who always wore a proud smile.

Ntaote said his only child was energetic and brave.

The father recounted how he enjoyed Alvin and the Chipmunks, Boss Baby and Baby Shark.

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“He had a shy side but was always kind to other children. He loved being outdoors and every day after eating and changing he’d say, ‘Let’s go’ or ‘I want my bikey’.

“That was his way of telling his mom that he wanted to go play outside. His love for water and swimming with his floaters came naturally, without any formal swimming lessons.

“Of late he had this interest of wanting to drive, and I was looking forward to teaching him,” Ntaote said.

The Modderfontein father explained how Kganya would always choose tea over any food.

Spaghetti and mince were his favourite meal.

“He loved staring into the sky from when he was little. The first few words that his mom taught him were ‘birdie’ and ‘plane’. We knew from then that he would fly high one day. I think he would have grown to become a pilot.

“I am sure that whatever it is that he decided to do in future he’d certainly take it to the top,” added Ntaote.

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Kganya, born on April 16, 2020, was laid to rest on March 10 in Spruitview.

On March 8, Gauteng MEC for Education, Matome Chiloane visited the preschool along with the grieving family.
The family viewed classroom CCTV footage on the same day as Kganya’s death.

Grievances raised by the family to the MEC delegates comprise not being informed on time about the incident, the school having an unmounted shelf in their classrooms, and being denied access to the premises and information leading to the death of their son.

The family accused the school of trying to cover up the death of their child.

The family explained to the MEC, based on security footage, that the incident took place at 09:50 and that they were only notified at 10:36.

Sergeant Lillian Modiga, corporate communications officer at Bedfordview SAPS, has since confirmed that an inquest has been opened.

Phumelele Tloubatla, director of early childhood development at the Department of Education, was part of the delegation of officials visiting the school.

Members from the department were denied entry when they got to the school but were eventually let in.

Tloubatla said because of this they were not able to assess the classrooms and were only able to do a walkabout.

She said they will be conducting another visit soon.

Ashford’s group CEO Cedric Ntumba said they are saddened following the tragic event.

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“This is the first time we have had such an incident of such a nature. We view safety as important.

“We are in a process of understanding what has happened and the reaction of the team once the incident happened. Once that is done, we will be in a better position to determine if the right procedures were followed.

“No stone will be left unturned and I have communicated that to the family. We will do whatever it takes to comply with law enforcement and to ensure that something of this nature never happens again.”

The MEC emphasised that parents ought to be the first ones to know when something has happened to their children.

Chiloane said a team will be appointed to investigate.

“If you have a class of toddlers you should know that shelves should be mounted. It is not easy for anyone to lose a child.

We send our deepest and heartfelt sympathies to the family. Going forward we will be looking at compliance in general throughout early childhood development centres in Gauteng, starting with the Ashford group.

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“The recommendation from the report will guide us in terms of what must happen next,” said Chiloane.

Ntumba said counselling for learners and staff members will be provided.

The school remained closed for the rest of the week.

On whether the implicated staff members would return to work, Ntumba said they will look at the evidence collected and then make a decision.

The family has thanked the public for its support.

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