Kimberley - The Sol Plaatje Municipality has been blamed for the death of a 16-month-old baby who died when the oxygen machine he was hooked to stopped functioning due to a power cut that hit Club 2000.
Kutlwano Kok’s family joined other angry community members in Club 2000 on Monday to protest against the lack of basic services in the area.
“Kutlwano would have been alive today if we had electricity. I feel as though the municipality has robbed me of my baby,” Kutlwano’s emotional mother Sylvia said. Kutlwano died on Sunday during a power cut.
Kok said that her son had to be connected to the oxygen machine 24 hours a day.
“He was suffering from a lung infection. If the electricity goes off, we have to ensure that he is connected to oxygen cylinders which are provided to us once a month. When the electricity went off on Sunday, the cylinder that we had at home had already been used up and there was no oxygen to keep him alive,” Sylvia said.
She explained that although the gas cylinder was supposed to be changed every month, they had not changed it last month because the child had spent most of the time in the Kimberley Hospital.
“Last month Kutlwano underwent an operation in Bloemfontein. After he was discharged, we came home but a few days later he was not feeling well so I took him to the Kimberley Hospital. We were only discharged from the Kimberley Hospital on Saturday before we could replace the gas cylinder,” Sylvia said.
She added that although she blamed the municipality for her baby’s death, she was not considering legal action.
Community members, who protested in the area on Monday, also blamed the municipality for Kutlwano’s death.
“The municipality cuts off the electricity without informing the people and forgets that some of our people are sick and depend on electricity to survive.
“Had they communicated that the electricity would be cut off, the family together with residents, could have made a plan. Kutlwano's death should be on the conscience of the municipality,” the residents said.
They added that the municipality’s plan of switching off electricity of ratepayers that owed the municipality monthly rates also affects the lives of community members that are sick.
Spokesman for the Sol Plaatje Municipality, Sello Matsie, said that the incident was regrettable.
“At this point we will not enter the blame game. We will give Kok’s family time to grieve the loss of their loved one,” Matsie said.
He pointed out that they would await the outcome of an investigation into Kutlwano’s death to see if he indeed died due to the power cut. Matsie said that the power cut in the area only happened from 4.47pm to 6pm on Sunday.
“We will also have to look at how we can, from now into the future, encourage community members to report to the municipality family members whose lives depend on electricity due to illness.”
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