SOWETO - More than 3 months since the passing of 5-year-old Manqoba Mnisi, his mother believes educators at his school may have tampered with evidence.
The grade R pupil died at Bernard Isaac’s Primary school in February, allegedly after being left unattended by teachers.
No one has been held responsible.
Despite promises from the Department of Basic Education about a two-week deadline to probe the incident, his family is still without answers.
His mother, Bongiwe Mnisi, said life is not the same anymore.
"I can’t focus on myself, every day I am crying. I’m still grieving, and I need answers and to know what happened to my son. He was very young and only went to school for 5 days. I don’t understand what they are still looking for because the incident happened at school.”
Educators have given Mnisi different accounts of what happened.
One version includes that he fell near a toilet while unsupervised.
"My son, I don’t know how to explain it. He was lifeless and supported by a drip. He was dead already, and the teacher kept telling me to mind the head; I think she didn't want me to see what happened in his head. I saw everything in the mortuary. Even the bruises, the blood on his mouth. This thing kills me every day.”
She said she wishes the department could take her seriously.
‘I think they murdered him. The bruises. And there’s a bone sticking out from his neck. Why did they do this to him? I wish the department could take this seriously. Give me closure and speed up the things so that I can focus on my other kids
The Gauteng Basic Education Department failed to deliver on its two-week deadline to uncover what happened to the toddler.
Asked to comment, the department said its team is studying the report.