A 21-year-old mother wept as the bodies of her two toddlers were carried away from her home yesterday.
Shafeeqah Smith’s two sons, Mogfaiek, three, and Mogamat Salie, two, were killed when they were hit by a train on Thursday afternoon.
At the time they were playing beside the railway tracks near their home in Tambo Square Village, Manenberg.
The two children were buried in accordance with Muslim rites yesterday.
Family, friends and members of the community gathered outside the house as the two small bodies – wrapped in white sheets – were carried inside.
Smith, who’d at first seemed emotionally strong, broke down in tears as they were carried past her.
“I’m heartsore, so heartsore,” she said. “I don’t know how long it will be till I’m okay again.”
As their bodies were driven away to a kramat (burial place) in Rylands, Athlone, a team from Metrorail arrived, pledging support for the family.
But they were turned away and instead they inspected the railway line – which is located about 30m away from the home – where the children were killed.
The closest entry to the railway line is a huge gap in the fence around the corner from their house. However, it is unknown whether the children entered the railway tracks by that route.
Smith said she was cooking inside when the children wandered off.
“It was the first time that happened. They always played in the garden. They never played in the street.”
When she called for the boys and they didn’t answer, she went looking for them.
As she searched the streets, a young boy from the neighbourhood told her that her sons were lying beside the tracks.
“I still don’t know what happened,” she said.
Smith said the house where she lived with Mogfaiek, Mogamat Salie and her stepfather Andrew Jacobs was quiet now.
“It doesn’t feel right. They were a handful, but I loved them. And they loved each other very much; they did everything together.”
Expressing its condolences, the provincial Community Police Forum Board was quick to raise concerns about safety.
“The blame lies in the hands of more than one entity,” said spokesman Hanif Loonat.
“We believe that the minders, the community and the authorities should equally shoulder the responsibility. The fencing protecting the communities has been removed… on a regular basis. The community has not pro-actively done anything about this, nor has the authority repaired or maintained this fencing over a number of years.
“The parents or guardians should be held equally accountable for the senseless loss of innocent lives.
“Why were these toddlers not supervised or cared for at that time of the evening?” - Saturday Argus