A Rookdale mother’s heart broke as police divers retrieved the body of her four-year-old son who drowned in a local canal in the Woodstock area, Bergville.
Juju Ndaba and his friend had been playing near the canal, late on Thursday afternoon, 20 May, when he apparently jumped into the water to catch a fish. The search team found the toddler’s body the next day. While the search team worked along the canal, Juju’s mother Noxolo Ndaba watched in disbelief. “I’m so sorry, God did not have to take my son like this. He can’t be gone,” cried Ndaba. She collapsed next to her son’s body after he was pulled out of the canal. Members of the nearby community told The Ladysmith Herald that they had warned the children to stay away from the canal. “The children don’t always listen to us,” said a community member, who tried to console Juju’s mother. Okhahlamba Municipal Chief, Freddie Halgreen said police divers retrieved Juju’s body on Friday, 21 May. Halgreen and three volunteers from Okhahlamba Search and Rescue had searched the canal the night before. “The young witness said that Juju made his way into the water and that was the last he had seen his friend,” said Halgreen. Juju’s friend had called for him, but after a while headed home. “It was only after some time that the mother realised that Juju was not with his friend,” said Halgreen.
He said the water temperature was extremely cold and that after an hour of searching, they made arrangements with Ladysmith and Pietermaritzburg search and rescue divers to assist with the search. “With a rope and buddy system, Ladysmith and Pietermartizbugh search and rescue walked the sides of the canal, while a diver searched the over-two-metre deep water. The pump system, which had been running on all four pumps was shut down, so that the water levels were lowered so that the search for the toddler was made easier,” said Halgreen. The Rookdale Canal is notorious for claiming the lives of young adults and children, who live in the area. A fence that was built to keep members of the community away from the canal has been stolen. “We have warned the community many times about the danger of the canal and swimming in it,” said Halgreen. Bergville Police have opened an inquest into the drowning.
