Cape Town - They were set to move into a new house in Strand where three-year-old Siyanda Sowule would finally have his own room and bed. But on Thursday that dream was cut short when Siyanda and a friend died after being trapped in a burning car.
His friend, Oyama Mbema, 3, was also playing in the broken vehicle when it burst into flames on Nomsa Maphongwana Street in Macassar around noon.
The boys were rescued by a local man, known only as “Monde”, who is now being lauded as a hero.
The two boys were rushed to a local day hospital and then transferred to Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital.
Their bodies covered in third degree burns, they clung to life, but were declared dead on Thursday night. EMS spokesman Robert Daniels confirmed that they died of their wounds.
“I don’t know how and why this happened. My son was so excited about getting a room of his own, that’s all he could talk about all week,” said Siyanda’s mother Sizeka Sowule today.
Oyama’s grandmother Xoliswa Mbema, who was looking after the children at the time, said the two boys had been playing out in the broken down car for a while. She was busy inside her house when she heard a woman screaming: “Fire! Fire!”
“When I went to look outside the car was in flames and the children were crying.”
Neighbours helped douse the flames and the children were pulled from the inferno by a man who the families referred to as “Monde”. The Cape Argus attempted to track him down, but no-one in the neighbourhood could point out his home.
“He went in and pulled them both out,” said Mbema.
“We then rushed them to the day hospital where we were told that the children had sustained 90 percent burn degree wounds.”
When the Cape Argus went to visit the home on Thursday, the burnt-out Toyota Corolla was still parked outside the Mbema household. The flames had gutted the inside leaving the upholstery blackened and shrivelled.
The car was covered in ashes and the windows had been smashed during the rescue attempt.
It was covered in a floral duvet which was held down by a set of red bricks.
Kholeka Sowule, Siyanda’s grandmother, said her grandson would have been at créche, but because they were moving soon, his mother thought it was best he stayed home until he started his new school in Strand.
“He was a very sweet child,” she told the Cape Argus.
“Before he left with Oyama to go play he said: ‘Granny I won’t stay long, I will be back and we can play together’.”
Siyanda’s mother Sizeka, who was still emotional, choking back tears as she spoke, was shocked by the loss of her son.
“No words can describe (this) amount of pain.
“I don’t know what to say or how I feel, I just feel cheated of my son,” she wept.
Sizeka was by her son’s side at the Red Cross Children’s Hospital when he died.
Cape Argus