Body hidden by shallow, cloudy water
Little girl trips over body, alerts adult
A birthday party hosted by Rio-De-Teb Amusement Centre at Lions Club in Francistown ended in tears on Saturday afternoon, when a 13-year-old boy drowned in the shallow end of the pool.
It seems the little boy, a Standard 7 student from Monarch, had gone unnoticed in the murky, cloudy water and was only discovered when a fellow swimmer brushed her foot against his body, which was lying at the bottom of the pool.
According to sources close to the family, he had accompanied a friend to the party but was unable to swim.
In a brief interview with The Voice, Central Station Commander, Mogomotsi Kesupile, confirmed they were looking into the tragic incident.
“When we asked the deceased’s friends what might have happened, they said that they were playing a game, competing to see who could hold their breath underwater the longest,” explained Kesupile.
He revealed the tragedy came to light when one of the children tripped over the boy’s body and then told the centre’s owner, who in turn alerted the lifeguard.
Hunting a comment from the family, The Voice travelled to Monarch, Area 1, but were told the police had instructed them not to speak to the media until investigations are over.
However, a neighbour claiming to be close to the child’s mother, insisted the family suspect there’s more to the drama than meets the eye.
“We were with the mother after church and she told us that she does not buy the story that the police are telling her. She believes there was some foul play as she wonders how a drowned body can sink in water rather than float in it,” said the neighbour, who demanded anonymity.
They further maintained the mourning mum wants to know how her son’s drowning went unnoticed in a pool full of children.
Lowering their voice, the source claimed the dead boy was being badly bullied by another child, who happened to be present at the party, speculating that perhaps that child took the bullying too far.
Meanwhile, speaking to The Voice from his Area A base on Wednesday, the owner of Rio-De-Teb, Farouk Motsumi, said despite the fact that a lifeguard was on duty and there were a lot of people at the pool, they don’t know exactly what transpired.
“Honestly, nobody knows what happened that caused the young boy to drown. A nine-year-old told me while they were busy swimming that she tripped on something that felt like legs. I immediately told the lifeguard to go check and, after about five seconds, he came out of the pool carrying the boy. I immediately started performing CPR until we arrived at Nyangabgwe Hospital, where the nurse checked the boy’s vitals and sadly discovered that there was no sign of life,” stated Motsumi.
The lifeguard on duty on the fateful day, Kaboapula Chuma, revealed he has 12 years experience as a lifeguard.
“This is the first time in my life that something like this has happened while I am on duty. I am terrified; if you could look into my eyes, you would see that I have not slept since Saturday. Every time I close my eyes, I see that boy,” said a visibly devastated Chuma.
