WATCH | Mom seeks answers from school after son’s mystery death

A Soweto mother, whose grade R son died in hospital after teachers took him there, has rejected the school’s claim that he died after falling in a toilet cubicle, saying his body did not have bruises when she saw it in hospital.

Manqoba Mnisi had been a pupil at Bernard Isaacs Primary School in Coronationville for only five days when he died in what his family says are unexplained circumstances.

Manqoba’s mother, Bongiwe Mnisi, said the school told her that her son had fallen in a toilet cubicle, hit the back of his head and stopped breathing.

Something sinister must have happened to my child.

—  Bongiwe Mnisi, Grieving Mom

“Teachers told me that when they found him lying on his back in the toilet, they attempted CPR before taking him to hospital, where he was declared dead,” she said.

However, Mnisi said she did not see any visible wounds or bruises on her son’s body when she arrived at the hospital. She said his head was bent backwards and she noticed dried blood around his mouth, cracks on his lips and mucus coming from his nose.

“The teacher kept telling me to support his head because it was bending backwards. That is when I knew something was wrong. Something sinister must have happened to my child,” she said.

Manqoba’s death comes just a year after he witnessed the brutal murder of his father during a hijacking. According to Mnisi, Manqoba was in a car when his father was shot dead outside his aunt’s home. The attackers allegedly pulled Manqoba out of the car through a window before driving off with the vehicle.

Mnisi said the incident had left her son deeply traumatised.

“After that, he was always scared to be alone or to sit in a parked car. Once, when we were stuck at a filling station, he panicked and told me to call the police because he thought people were coming to shoot us,” she said.

Manqoba was born prematurely, at five months. His mother said he had survived numerous challenges in his short life and believes he could not have died from what the school described as a minor fall.

“There is no way my child would die just like that after fighting so many battles. He was a healthy child and even the doctor mentioned there was nothing wrong with him,” she said.

Doubts surrounding the school’s version of events intensified following messages Mnisi received from other parents and an anonymous source.

One anonymous message sent to Mnisi alleged that Manqoba was left alone in a locked classroom and became stuck while attempting to escape through a window.

The sender claimed the child was found hanging and was already unresponsive by the time help arrived.

“I am writing this message with a heavy heart and in fear,” the message read.

“Your son was left alone in a locked classroom. He tried to get out through the window and got stuck for a long time. By the time he was found, it was too late.”

According to the person, a passerby saw Manqoba hanging stuck in the window.

Another parent reportedly told Mnisi that their child came home crying, claiming they had seen Manqoba with a wire around his neck. The parent said their child believed Manqoba had hanged himself.

Mnisi, who is still mourning the death of her husband, has called for a full investigation into her son’s death.

An inquest docket has been opened and police are investigating the circumstances of his death, said Gauteng police spokesperson Col Mavela Masondo.

Gauteng education department spokesperson Steve Mabona said it will conduct its own investigation into Manqoba’s death, as it is not satisfied with the school’s explanation.

Education MEC Matome Chiloane said the department had received preliminary reports on the incident but stressed that investigations were ongoing.

“We are waiting for full, comprehensive reports before we decide how best to deal with these matters,” he said.

Sowetan