“Pleading with my daughter’s spirit to come back home with me left me shattered. I had never imagined that she would come home in a coffin.”
These were the words of Johannes Sebate moments after collecting his deceased daughter’s spirit yesterday from The Venue Country Hotel in Hartbeespoort, North West. .
His daughter, Magdeline Manyama, 21, was one of the two student representative council (SRC) members who drowned at the hotel’s swimming pool on Tuesday night. The group from Orbit TVET College were on a capacity building and skills development programme.
Manyama was a level three student in electrical infrastructure and construction at Mankwe campus and Keano Melamu a level four student in office administration at Rustenburg campus.
Sebate said his heart broke when he saw his daughter in a mortuary van.
“What happened to my daughter? She was fine when we were together two days before the incident. I went to fetch her belongings and I brought her back to school again. We did not talk about the trip as she knew that I never wanted her to be part of the SRC.
“I wanted her to focus on her studies because I did not want her to be in trouble with the college management or her lecturers. The family was looking forward to seeing her finish her studies,” said Sebate .
Sebate said his daughter could not swim and the pool she and Melamu drowned in was between 1.5m and 2.0m deep. “On Tuesday just after 8pm, I received a call from the school caretaker that something had happened. I immediately rushed to the hotel and I can never describe how I felt when I saw my daughter in a mortuary van. She had a bruise on her forehead,” said the heartbroken father.
Sebate said other students told him they were playing 30 Second board game and the deceased were allegedly dared to take a swim.
“Apparently, they were in the company of a security guard, caretaker and one of the SRC members. I don’t know what happened to the caretaker, the SRC member went back to the room and the security had to answer his phone. When he came back, the two had drowned,” he said.
Sebate said he was not satisfied with the story. He went to the hotel to speak with management and to collect his daughter’s spirit yesterday.
“I needed to know what exactly happened to my daughter. The manager said according to their footage the two students were chilling in the pool area and there was a group of people who were sitting in the bar not far from the pool. Unfortunately, she didn’t say how the two students drowned. The incident happened on Tuesday but I am still waiting for a report from the school,” said an emotional Sebate.
Sowetan called the hotel yesterday and the receptionist said the managers work from Monday to Friday before hanging up. . However, about 30 minutes after Sowetan’s call, the father was in a meeting with one of the managers.
Orbit College principal’s phone rang unanswered yesterday and he did not respond to SMSes .
One of the SRC members said they were about to attend a memorial service of the two students and could not comment yesterday.
Minister of higher education Blade Nzimande urged law enforcement agencies to swiftly investigate circumstances that led to this tragic development. “I am also pleased that the college management undertook to give its full support and co-operation to the investigators to determine the exact cause of this incident,” Nzimande said.
The department could not say if it had approved the trip or who was responsible for the expenses.
North West police spokesperson Brig Sabata Mokgwabone said an inquest docket has been opened. “Apparently, the two were sitting with a group of students when they decided to leave them. Later, a security guard found their bodies floating in the pool.”
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.