Victims of Lakehaven fire still not laid to rest

How the blaze at Lakehaven Child and Youth Care Centre in Sea Cow Lake was reported at the time.

How the blaze at Lakehaven Child and Youth Care Centre in Sea Cow Lake was reported at the time.

Published Dec 8, 2016

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Durban - Five months after a cottage at the Lakehaven Child and Youth Care Centre burnt down claiming eight lives, the remains of those who died have not yet been laid to rest.

This despite a memorial being held a few weeks after the fire to remember the eight victims, aged between 8 and 21.

The incident happened in July at the Sea Cow Lake-based home.

Those who died were: Fikisani Chala, 8, from Harding; Sandile Duma, 8, from Durban; Ajesh Gangaparsad, 8, from Chatsworth; Gabriel Mbambo, 11, from Pinetown; John Shusha, 17, and S’fundo Ndlovu, 17, from Pietermaritzburg; Sibongiseni Nxumalo, 18, from KwaDukuza; and Minenhle Ndlovu, 21, from Ndwedwe.

Irene Okoye, the manager at Child Welfare Durban and District, blamed the police for the fact that the remains had not yet been laid to rest.

“The delay lies with the investigating officer and with the fire investigating unit. One of our major hurdles is that we are constantly being told reports are being finalised,” Okoye said.

“We know that sometimes the wheels turn slowly in the system but this has been painstakingly slow.

“Our understanding is that there are subtleties in this incident that require highly sophisticated investigation, hence the delay,” she added.

For the families of the victims the delays have been painful and have failed to give them closure.

Rajesh Gangaparsad, 47, father of eight-year-old Ajesh, said his son would have turned nine on October 31 this year. For him the date brought back painful memories.

He said his own life took a turn for the worse a few years ago when he became unemployed and was unable to pay school fees for Ajesh and his two siblings.

The children were subsequently placed at Lakehaven.

He described the five-month-long wait for his son’s remains as “terrible” and said he was reaching the end.

He said Ajesh’s sibings, who were at the centre on the night of the fire, remained traumatised.

“They heard the screams and cries for help from their brother and the other boys and that has scarred them for life,”the father said.

He claimed the surviving siblings were still waiting to receive counselling from social workers, although they had received some support from a church in Phoenix.

“He (Ajesh) was my only son. Like any father I had plans for his future.

“I wanted to help him become a good man. He went everywhere with me, and we had such a close bond. I miss him dearly,” said Gangaparsad.

One of Ajesh’s siblings, who is a minor and cannot be named, said Ajesh was sorely missed.

“Life is not the same without him. We (the three siblings) would play together every day and now we miss him.

“I’m still sad that he is no more and at the same time I feel angry at everything and everyone because he lost his life in the way that he did.”

At the time of the incident Vumani Chala, the older brother of Fikisani, told the Daily News that his younger brother had wanted to go back home to Harding with him a day before tragedy struck, but he was unable to take him.

“We hope that by the end of the year we will have buried our brother because this

continued delay is really hurting us. This wait does not sit well with the family,” Chala said.

“Life has come to a complete standstill now and the family is constantly asking me a lot of questions and all I can tell them is to wait for the results of the DNA .

“It is really frustrating and the family is upset that his remains are still not resting at home, where they should be.”

Chala said he had received constant updates from Lakehaven officials and they had told him that the delay was caused by the fact that the children had been burnt beyond recognition.

However, DNA test results had not been finalised.

eThekwini spokeswoman Tozi Mthethwa said the municipality would help the

bereaved families and would keep their promise to give R15 000 to families of the children who died to cover burial costs.

Mthethwa said there would be no mass funeral and each of the families would bury their loved ones at a site of their own choice.

“Two of the children will receive state funerals after

investigations revealed they had no immediate family members and the dates of the

funerals will be confirmed upon the completion of

the forensic investigations that are in progress,” said Mthethwa.

Despite being given two days to respond, the police and the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health had not responded

to questions about the investigation at the time of publication.

Daily News

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