Mon blames Eskom as Kids perish in fire

The electricity people had been saying they would come and that became an everyday anthem sung to my ears to side-line me.” This is according to Ficksburg mother Mmamatshidiso Mofolo, who feels that if only there had been electricity at her home she would not be mourning the death of a child and a grandchild. Mofolo’s son Dillo Mofolo, 15, and grandson Katleho Khemane, 5, burnt to death in her home in Meqheleng township just outside Ficksburg in the early hours of yesterday (Monday) morning while she was in Lesotho attending a funeral. Ficksburg police spokesman Captain Phumelelo Dhlamini said, “It is alleged that the children fell asleep with the candle still burning in their bedroom.” He said that by 3am, the bedroom where the children were sleeping was already covered by blazing flames of fire and the rest of the eight roomed house was also beginning to catch fire. “The neighbors assisted by using their buckets to fetch water and hosepipes to extinguish the fire.” Mofolo’s 12-year-old granddaughter, Sibongile Mofolo, sustained serious burn injuries and was taken to to Ficksburg Photholoha hospital for medical treatment. Her two other children, daughter Dikeledi Mofolo, 15, and son Sentebale, 8, managed to escape without injury. “If only I hadn’t gone my grandchildren would still be alive. The pain I felt upon finding out and that I’ll continue to endure for the rest of my life is not being there when my children were helpless,” said Mofolo. The grieving mother said she has been without electricity for three years while battling to get Eskom to sort out the electricity problem at her home. “Out of frustration I went Eskom’s offices in Thaba Nchu and a senior official Mr Matseka sang the same tune: We shall come and look into the problem,” she said. She said Matseka further showed what seemed like a concern by jotting down her house number and urged her to leave the documents that proved that she’d made the necessary payments. Mofolo left and nothing happened and when she tried to follow up later Matseka couldn’t be found. She was given the call centre number but never managed to through to solve the problem as the line just rang. “I also went to Meqheleng councillors to explain my dilemma and the councillors told me that they would call Eskom to find out what the problem was but, they also failed to make them attend to my conundrum.” Mofolo and her son Gabriel, father of little Katleho, both feel that the lack of electricity is mostly to blame for the death of the children. Gabriel said, “I blame eskom, because had it not been for their incompetence, none of this would have happened.” Talking about the youngsters, Me Mofolo said, “What I’ll remember most about them is their talks with me and how they’d tell me that they are going to buy good things for me when they start working. Two of my children died, one is in hospital and God only helped two to survive,” she said.