It was a sombre morning for the community of Evaton Township north of Sebokeng with scores of mourners mostly dressed in black gathered at the home of the three Evaton Primary School learners who died after allegedly consuming milk, pap, and biscuits laced with poison.
On Monday, the community suffered a heavy blow when they learnt of the deaths of siblings Rethabile Mokhatla, Tshepiso Tsotetsi, and Moeketsi Mokhatla after falling ill on their arrival at school just after 8am.
Several members of the community, including a close family friend, called for the law to take its course over the gruesome deaths of the three young lives which were cut short when a man known to the family is alleged to have deliberately fed the children the deadly poison.
Speaking to The Star while the emotional service was still being delivered on Sunday, Samson Sithole, who said he was a close family friend, said there was no need for someone who called himself a parent to cause the death of children.
“What has happened here was a very distasteful act driven by sheer lack of remorse and care for the lives of children. I just can’t really put into words the pain this has caused to the family and the entire community.
“How do you feed children poison and tell the fourth child not to eat the food that you know will kill the other children. Can you imagine the pain of the surviving child who was told not to eat the food when he sees his siblings dead,” said Sithole.
Councillor for Ward 24, Rethabile Hlakane, said the community has been left shaken by the incident, adding that there needs to be consequences for the person responsible for the dastardly act.
“This tragedy has really affected us in a negative manner as the community of Evaton, as this incident comes just when we have been increasingly affected by several deaths. What we want to see happen is for the police and law enforcement agencies to get to the bottom of this. We can’t allow this act to go unpunished,” said Hlakane.
Inside the tent erected to celebrate the lives of the three learners, Evaton residents gathered in their numbers to support one of their own, Dibuseng Mokhatla, the grieving mother who hid her pain in a heavy blanket as hymns upon hymns were being sung and scripture after scripture was being poured out by various religious and church leaders.
Chairperson of the Evaton Primary School, Patience Kolweni, said the school was shocked to learn of the deaths of the three learners who in their young lives had shown so much potential before they were taken away in such a painful manner.
“We are still in shock and the entire school is still in mourning over the loss of such promising children who were always a great pleasure to work with in school. They were such a joy and a lot was expected in their lives,” she said.