Durban mom whose kids perished in house fire goes into hiding
SIPHIWE Maduna, uncle of the mother of the children who died in a fire at Embo in Hillcrest, west of Durban, on Sunday, told people at the vigil he was shocked by the events. The family was visited by Social Development MEC Nonhlanhla Khoza, pictured on his right, who offered her condolences. Photo: Doctor Ngcobo/African News Agency(ANA). SIPHIWE Maduna, uncle of the mother of the children who died in a fire at Embo in Hillcrest, west of Durban, on Sunday, told people at the vigil he was shocked by the events. The family was visited by Social Development MEC Nonhlanhla Khoza, pictured on his right, who offered her condolences. Photo: Doctor Ngcobo/African News Agency(ANA).
Durban - The mother of four children who died in a fire in Hillcrest, west of Durban, on Sunday, has gone into hiding.
This was revealed on ward councillor Themba Shelembe at a vigil for the children.
He said Hlengiwe Maduna had gone into hiding after the incident.
Siblings Mbalenhle, Zamokuhle, Zemvelo and Khethukuthula Maduna, aged between 1 and 6, died in the fire at Embo. It was alleged they were locked in the house while Maduna went to visit her boyfriend.
Shelembe said the mother had been taken away for her own safety.
“Yes, people’s hearts are sore, but we trust the justice system and we ask for the community not to take the law into its own hands,” he said.
Siphiwe Maduna, the mother’s uncle, also appealed for calm and said he understood the community’s anger.
He said when he first arrived at the house after hearing the news, he could not give the community answers as he also did not understand what
had happened and was at a loss
for words.
“It is incredibly painful,” he said.
It was a deep loss for him as he had buried his sister in December last year and was still recovering when this tragedy struck.
He asked that there be an investigation into what caused the fire as there were still questions about what happened.
He thanked the Department of Social Development for offering to help with funeral arrangements as the family was poor.
Ncumisa Ndelu, department spokesperson, said it had sent social workers to the family to help them with trauma counselling.
Police spokesperson Captain Nqobile Gwala said police are conducting an inquest and investigating a case of child neglect.
Social Development MEC Nonhlanhla Khoza, who visited the grieving family on Thursday, said the children had a right to live.
Khoza said if a parent leaves children unattended they should face the consequences.
She also spoke about family planning and unwanted pregnancies.
Khoza said government chose to legalise abortions because there were instances where children were born from abuse and this resulted in children sometimes not being wanted by their mothers.
She added that the department also had a foster care system to take care of unwanted children.
Khoza also chastised men saying that paying maintenance was not enough. “Paying money is not looking after the child,” she said.