Johannesburg – The family of the Grade 6 pupil who died after allegedly drowning during a school trip on Friday said they were shattered by his death.
Mandla Chauke, a 12-year-old schoolboy from Refalotse Primary School in Winterveldt, allegedly drowned on the school trip.
John Chauke, the boy’s uncle and the family spokesperson, said they were sad because they had a lot of hopes for his education, building a future for himself and assisting the family.
He described the boy as an active person, humble and happy. “He loved cartoons a lot, even after school we could just sit and watch TV with him just for cartoons,” said John Chauke.
Chauke said they couldn’t blame the school for the incident because they didn’t know what happened.
"I don't have a lot to say but we can only wait for the post-mortem. I don't want to speculate because as a family we were not there," he said.
Gauteng Education MEC Matome Chiloane announced an independent investigation into Chauke's death.
Chiloane visited the school and the family to convey his condolences and offer psychosocial support from the department.
The MEC said an independent investigative law firm would be appointed to probe Mandla’s death.
“As the department, we have decided to facilitate a process to appoint an independent law firm to conduct a thorough investigation to establish what transpired. This independent investigation will run parallel to the police’s ongoing investigation,” said Chiloane.
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