The new year and the torrential rains in Limpopo have brought a lot of doom and gloom to some families at Ga-Seleka outside Lephalale in the Waterberg district.
The close-knit community is still reeling with shock following the drowning of two young boys aged 10 years.
Last seen on river banks
Jan Monare and Thapelo Maropola were last seen alive loitering on the banks of Phalala River on new year’s day. The two friends had gone there for swimming.
Their families were later informed by other children that they have drowned in the river, which is crocodile-infested.
Community members managed to retrieve the lifeless body of Monare, while Maropola is still missing.
Thapelo’s distraught mother, Martha Maropola, is still unable to come to terms with the tragedy of her missing son.
One body retrieved, another still missing
Martha has accused the police of not putting more efforts and resources to the search operation. The operation was later abandoned prematurely.
“This drowning incident has hurt me badly. I miss my son so badly. And given the manner in which the police are tackling this matter, I am slowly losing hope. I am not impressed with their efforts so far. My plea to the police is to rope in the services of divers so that they can retrieve my child. It’s only when they found him that I can find closure,” Martha said.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Hlulani Mashaba explained the sudden halt to the search. He said after searching for up to 16km in the river, they came across seven hippopotamuses. Two of the animals charged at the team.
Mashaba said police have temporarily stopped the search due to the potential danger from wild animals in the river.
Search called off due to dangers from hippos
“Divers were summoned to Phalala River after three people, two young boys and an adult, drowned on January 1. Police are working closely with emergency services personnel. And they have so far managed to retrieve two bodies. But they had to temporarily call off the search due to threats of hippos in the river. This has forced the search team to temporarily call off the search mission,” Mashaba said.
Local villagers said the new year’s day tragedy is not the first drowning incident in the Phalala River.
Samuel Matlou said in 2020, two boys drowned and their bodies were never found.
“We went to the river to search for ourselves because the police have failed us. They told us that they could not dive into the water because they were afraid of crocodiles. We decided to go in because the story of crocodiles and hippos charging at them is not convincing,” Matlou said.
Five drownings at same river since January
Limpopo has recorded at least five drowning incidents since the beginning of January. The latest incident happened at Sesalemane, where two young boys aged 16 years were swept away by the river on January 4. Their bodies have since been found.
