Closure for Khaya’s family at last

KHOLEKILE Magadla, father of Khayalethu, with his wife and members of the community

KHOLEKILE Magadla, father of Khayalethu, with his wife and members of the community

Published Jul 4, 2022

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SIYABONGA SITHOLE

Except for a patch on the cheeks and a hole in his jacket, the body of 7-year-old Khayalethu Magadla was very much intact and not badly decomposed.

KHOLEKILE Magadla (bespectacled), father of Khayalethu, with his wife and members of the community

"When we got there, we were able to positively identify him because he was wearing the same navy blue tracksuit with red pockets.

“He still had his Van's sneakers fastened on him and his body was not badly decomposed and was very much intact except for a few patches on his cheeks and a hole in his jacket,” Kholekile Magadla said following the discovery of his son’s body at the Eldorado Park Cemetery Waste Water pipeline on Saturday afternoon.

Magadla said the discovery has helped the family find closure following a very emotional and trying period for the family who spent more than three weeks frantically searching for their son who disappeared on Sunday June 12 after falling inside the exposed manhole at the Eco Park in Dlamini just a few metres away from their family home.

“We have waited a long time for this day. Even though death is painful, the most important thing for us as a family was finding his body which was done on Saturday after 12pm when I was called by members of the EMS," she said.

JOBURG search and rescue team

The father of the 7-year-old said he was nervous when the rescue team came on Saturday and thought they had come to update him as has been the norm in the past few weeks. However, this time around their visit was to ask him to come and identify the body of his son.

RESIDENTS of Dlamini in Soweto helped with the search.Picture: Itumeleng English/African News Agency (ANA)

"I cried when I saw my son in that state. It broke my heart but I realised that I was crying for the last time because we had finally found him," he said.

Magadla said he would like to thank the members of the community as well as the City of Joburg rescue team who had worked hard in finding his son.

SIC-YEAR-OLD Khayalethu Magadla.Picture: Itumeleng English/African News Agency (ANA)

The soft-spoken father of Khayalethu also thanked the community of Dlamini.

“This has been an emotional and trying time for me and the family. The community has been very helpful and supportive since the beginning of the search and I am grateful for their support. I am also grateful to the rescue team for their hard work," he said.

Magadla said the funeral of his son will take place in Mthatha in the Eastern Cape on Saturday, July 16, as the family is still waiting for the forensic report which is expected sometime this week.

“We will use this week to mourn him here in Soweto while we wait for the forensic report to be finalised. However, the funeral itself will be happening in Mthatha in the Eastern Cape," he said.

EMS spokesperson, Nana Radebe-Kgiba said the search which took 20 days was an excruciating undertaking that saw over 35 members of the rescue team, 60 officials from Joburg Water, the Hazmat urban rescue team as well as ambulances and the air wing team, K-9 unit and delta scans as the team intensified its rescue operation during the past three weeks.

Public Safety MMC David Tembe congratulated member of the emergency services and all parties that contributed to the search with Radebe-Kiba saying the 20-day long operation covering over 20km of sewer line showed commitment by members of the rescue team in ensuring the body of the young boy was found at all costs.

“Khayalethu Magadla was recovered from the splitter chamber on the first manhole towards Samp situated at the Eldorado Park Waste Plant. It has been an excruciating 20 days for the family since the search began for the six-year-old boy. The Urban Rescue team has been consistently continuing with the search through the challenging pipeline system. The team covered at least 20km from Dlamini to Eldorado Park, " reads the statement.

The ANC and Operation Dudula movement yesterday sent their condolences to the family.

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