A candlelight tribute outside the home of Shivan Cumberlege
Image: Doctor Ngcobo
AFTER the tragic suicide of 12-year-old Shivan Cumberlege, his parents face allegations of abuse and neglect.
In an exclusive interview, Leanne Govindsamy and Sheldon Cumberlege, both 28, defended themselves against the community’s accusations, telling of the financial struggles they faced as a family.
On Thursday, Shivan, a Grade 3 pupil at Parkgate Primary, was found hanged from the rafters of his Neptune Place, Riet River, home, with his mother’s sari.
At the time, it was alleged that Shivan was alone at home with his 4-year-old brother. His father was reportedly at work.
His mother had left two days earlier, with Shivan’s two younger siblings (a 2-year-old sister and a 4-month-old brother), to attend a prayer in Waterloo.
Neighbours alleged that when Shivan was 9 years old, he had tried to hang himself from a guava tree, outside his home.
The community claimed he had made several enquiries about how to tie a “tight knot”, before his death.
Shivan's home in Riet River.
Image: Doctor Ngcobo
A 16-year-old relative and neighbour said she found Shivan’s body after she heard his brother screaming.
“He screamed that Shivan was throttling himself. I put my cellphone torch on so I could see inside the house. I saw Shivan hanged from the rafters with a green-and-purple sari tied around his neck. I screamed until the neighbours came to help,” she said.
Another relative, Gita Deonarain, claimed that Shivan was a victim of repeated assaults and neglect.
“He told me that he did not want to live any more because his parents always hit him. I witnessed some of these assaults. Shivan was forced to grow up before his time. He was often kept home from school to babysit his siblings,” she claimed.“
We often saw him selling bottles or clothes to buy polony or lollipops from the tuckshop, for his siblings. When his parents fought, Shivan and his siblings would run through the settlement to find a safe place to hide, especially at night,” Deonarain alleged.
Gita Deonarain, Shivan's aunt, at the area where he was found hanged
Image: Doctor Ngcobo
“Last week, Shivan told me several times, ‘Gita Ma, I am so tired … I am going to hang myself.’
“I did not think he would really do it,” Deonarain added.
She said the community called for the couple’s three other children to be removed from their care. However, Shivan’s parents claimed there was “more to the story on how he managed to hang himself, as he never knew how to tie a knot properly".
The coupled said they were forced to flee their home after they were allegedly harassed by the community. They said they were struggling to make ends meet, but claimed that their four children were well taken care of.
Govindsamy said Shivan was only in Grade 3 because they had enrolled him in school late. They claimed they had to flee their home after a loan shark threatened their lives because they could not repay their debt. This, she said, delayed his schooling.
She said she was labelled an “unfit” mother and could not grieve for her son because of all the hate and negativity.
“When I found out about Shivan, I rushed to the clinic. The women from the community, including neighbours and relatives, screamed at me and said that I must be happy that Shivan was dead,” said Govindsamy.
“One of the women pulled the sheet off Shivan’s face, and said, ‘look at your child, he is dead now’. I was shocked. I never thought Shivan would do something like this,” she added.
She claimed when she returned home later that evening, she was assaulted by the community.
“The community told us to take our belongings and leave the area. I was carrying my 4-month-old baby when someone hit me with a pipe on my back. We had to flee. We attended the funeral because we felt that we would be safe with the security who were present,” she said.
Govindsamy denied that she and her husband had abused Shivan.
“Shivan was an A-pupil and he was very responsible. My husband and I would hit him every now and then, especially when he went to the neighbours’ houses, and their children fought with him.
“But we never abused him. We are poor, and most people take advantage of us and treat us anyhow due to this. We collect a grant for two of our children, and used that money for groceries. Shivan never starved,” she said.
Govindasamy said on Monday, social workers visited them and took statements.
“We were told that they would investigate the allegations. On Tuesday, my 4-year-old son who witnessed the incident was taken to the Verulam Child Welfare for counselling.
“We know that the community wants our children removed from us, and we would not object to any decision taken by the child welfare,” she added.
Cumberlege said he had spoken to Shivan about 20 minutes before he died.
“I left my cellphone with him so I could check on him while I was at work. We had given him R100 to buy bread and polony. Both items were in the house when he died, along with the change.
“There were rumours that he had sold bottles to buy polony. If we are wrong, the law will deal with us. But for now, we urge the community and social media users to leave us alone to mourn our son. Shivan never knew how to tie a knot, and he could not even tie his shoe laces properly. We believe that there is more to how he died,” Cumberlege added.
Thuba Vilane, spokesperson of the KZN Department of Social Development (DSD), said the Verulam Child Welfare and DSD social workers were investigating and conducting risk assessments with the parents and Shivan’s siblings.
He confirmed that the three siblings were still in the custody of their parents pending the investigations.