Lovely Mokoena remained numb in disbelief even after being shown the lifeless body of her only daughter lying in hospital.
She had last seen her daughter, Amkelekile, 6, in the morning before she left for school, only to be told a few hours later that the little girl had arrived already dead at Bertha Gxowa Hospital in Germiston, just a few blocks from her school, M.E.L. International where she was doing grade 2.
“I thought there must have been a mistake. That can't be my child,” Mokoena told Sowetan on Thursday.
Mokoena and Amkelekile's father Sibusiso Manyoni still want answers into their child's death. The couple still has more questions than answers after she died at school three weeks ago.
An autopsy report showed that their daughter's death was caused by choking on a grape which was among the items packed in her lunch box.
The grape was found lodged in her throat during the autopsy examination, Mokoena said.
That has plunged the young parents into a state of more shock, disbelief and disappointment as they are accusing the school of gross negligence.
“But where were the teachers when our child was struggling and grasping for air? Who was looking after their class?” asked Mokoena as she struggled to hold off tears.
“I now have pictures in my mind of my daughter struggling without anyone assisting her, a person wouldn't just die due to choking without struggling, why didn't whoever who was looking after her give her, a pat on her back?," she asked.
On that fateful Monday, Manyoni, 33, was called about 10am on Monday January 24, by the school informing him that their child had collapsed and was being rushed to hospital.
He then frantically called Mokoena telling her that they needed to rush to hospital.
The parents admit that being confronted with news that their little one was dead was the last thing they expected as their child was never a sickly person.
Even when they were immediately called to an office at the hospital, they never imagined what they were about to be told.
The doctor asked them about ten questions which were about their daughter's medical history including whether she was epileptic or had diabetes among others.
He then delivered the bad news telling them that the child had no pulse and was no longer breathing on her arrival at the hospital.
“Our daughter was already cold when she got to the hospital,” Mokoena said
Manyoni said the teacher told them that their daughter had vomited during lunch while being watched by another person as the teacher had gone to get her own lunch.
They were told that after vomiting, Amkelekile was asked if she was fine to which she apparently responded “yes” and she was not taken to the sick bay.
“That on its own doesn't make sense. Why did they not call us at that point and how would you ask a six-year-old that they were fine without making sure that they were fine,” asked Manyoni.
He questioned the school's “first line response” which he believes was not followed in his daughter's case.
“We were supposed to be called as parents immediately when she started vomiting. All we want now is justice for Amkelekile because there's no doubt that what happened here is pure negligence,” Manyoni said.
Now all they are pinning their hopes on getting answers is an inquest case which Germiston police have registered.
A woman, who answered the school's WhatsApp and identified herself as Linda, promised that the school principal would respond to Sowetan's questions and asked for an email address but had not responded by the time of going to print,
The phone then rang unanswered afterwards and the WhatsApp showed that Sowetan's subsequent messages were read.
Gauteng police spokesperson Colonel Dimakatso Sello confirmed an inquest case has been opened for investigation by the Germiston police.
In a statement to Sowetan last night, the school stated that it was investigating the incident.
"We have been advised by our legal representative that it would be premature to make any statements regarding the facts surrounding the matter at this stage," the statement stated.
"We do however assure the family that this matter is receiving our full attention in order to bring the family closure," the statement said.
