Former ANC MP Boy Mamabolo is mobilising the community to sue the Polokwane municipality over contaminated water, as the crisis has brought deep pain, fear, and trauma to households.
Mamabolo told Sunday World that the water has been making people sick and that those affected should come forward to demand compensation of at least R50 000 per resident and R100 000 for the deceased.
He said residents have been suffering from nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea, symptoms that may indicate gastroenteritis.
Most distressingly, he said, children have reportedly died after drinking the contaminated water.
Three minor kids have died
Mamabolo explained that they will go through a normal court process instead of an urgent application, believing that more than 1 000 people cannot lose a case against one municipality.
He said the problem became clear to him when his children fell ill while visiting their grandmother in Seshego.
As news spread, worried residents began approaching him for help, sharing similar experiences of sickness in their homes.
“The municipality claims that they took their water to a laboratory and it was negative, but we don’t believe them because everytime they cut water from the residents, it comes back muddy and contaminated, which is not good for human consumption.
“We are suing the municipality so that the affected people can be reimbursed with the money they spent going to the doctors and clinics, including the trauma they suffered.
“We have already lost three minor kids in the community due to this contaminated water,” said Mamabolo.
He said many people are afraid to speak out, but he is encouraging the community to act against the municipality and to seek justice for what they have endured.
Virus associated with gastroenteritis
A man, who preferred to remain anonymous as the family is part of the planned legal action, told Sunday World that his niece died on Christmas Day, shortly after being discharged from the hospital following her birth.
He explained that his sister had given birth prematurely, resulting in a longer hospital stay.
The man alleged that when the baby returned home, she became ill each time she was fed formula made with boiled tap water.
“Every time the child drank the formula, she would get diarrhoea because of our water in Seshego. Even if you boil the water and take other precautions, we would still get sick after boiling it.
“As time went on, the child died; we found her dead in the morning, and when the postmortem was done, it concluded that the child died from diarrhoea and dehydration.”
The EFF in Polokwane had also raised concerns over the deteriorating water quality. EFF Polokwane chairperson Lawrence Mapoulo alleged that the incompetence violates the right to clean drinking water.
“Through community consultations and engagements with affected residents, it has become evident that there is a strong possibility that the municipal water system has been contaminated by a virus associated with gastroenteritis,” said Mapoulo.
