Shocking twist in child’s pit latrine death

‘Many things do not add up ’— EC education MEC Fundile Gade

Shocking new details suggesting foul play have emerged in connection with the discovery of the body of four-year-old preschooler Langalam Viki who was found apparently drowned in an adult VIP pit latrine.

Leading the charge on the possibility of criminality is Eastern Cape education MEC Fundile Gade, who said the child found in the latrine in Mcwangele Junior Secondary School in Vaalbank had suspicious head injuries.

Police confirmed this on Thursday.

Queenstown cluster police spokesperson Captain Namhla Mdleleni said police were investigating further after examining the little girl’s injuries.

“According to the postmortem, the child had head injuries and the cause of the injuries is still under investigation.

“She was found inside the adults’ toilets. Her trousers were buttoned up.”

The Viki family said they were told the postmortem showed Langalam had suffered head injuries and drowned. They are demanding answers about the sequence of events.

Gade was speaking on Saturday on the sidelines of the child’s emotional funeral at Mcwangele village in Vaalbank, an hour from Komani in the direction of Dordrecht.

“The way the school and the community are telling the story requires us to follow the matter very closely,” Gade said.

“I say this because there are shocking reports of the preliminary investigation that say the child was found with head injuries [possibly inflicted] before she fell into the toilet or was found in the toilet.

“The police say the child had head injuries. Many things do not add up.

“She was found in the adult toilets and not in the ones the minors use at the school.

“She was found with her pants buttoned up.

“She was seen before the school was closed.”

Gade said his department was conducting its own investigation.

“The police said the investigation would be concluded soon and that they would inform us about the outcome.”

Gade said this was not simply a story of a child falling into a latrine and that more information needed to be unearthed to avoid potentially protecting criminals.

“If the child fell into the toilet we will take responsibility for that. If it is criminally related we will follow that up as well.”

He questioned how it was that the child had been found dead in the school’s environmentally designed, safe VIP toilets, which were not the rudimentary pit latrines found in mud schools.

There was heart-wrenching wailing and lamentation at Saturday’s burial ceremony, which was attended by 500 villagers and family members.

Langalam’s mother, Nangamso Viki, kept her head down as she paid her last respects to her child.

Speaking later, she said the family was awaiting feedback from the education department investigation.

The police had already given them a report on its investigation.

Viki said: “The police who dealt with the postmortem told us the child had head injuries and that she drowned in the toilets.

“They said they are investigating how the child sustained the head injuries, a question we also need answers to.”

Her face lit up when she spoke of her child: “I will remember her ability to mimic visitors’ conversations after they left.

“She would always behave as though she was not paying any attention to them.”

She said Langalam had a sharp mind and did not forget what she was taught; she would become impatient when someone tried to teach her something she already knew.

Viki said she was grateful for the MEC’S intervention in assisting with the child’s burial.

Gade said the department was committed to eradicating 1,500 pit latrines at schools.

He had attended the funeral to show he cared about the family and the people of Vaalbank.

The DA said this week it will take legal action against the provincial and national departments of education to get the courts to order the replacement of pit toilets across SA.

DA national leader John Steenhuisen announced this during a visit to the Vikis on Human Rights day.

Steenhuisen and a delegation with party provincial leader Andrew Whitfield, the spokesperson on basic education, MP Baxolile Nodada and others visited Umngcengeni Junior Secondary School to assess the condition of the toilets.

Steenhuisen said the aim of the legal action was to force the government to give the courts regular reports on work done to eradicate pit toilets.

He was horrified that after 30 years of democracy, there were still schools where young children were at risk every day for using something as simple as a toilet.

The DA brought groceries for the Viki family and contributed a sum of money to them.

They found a donor to assist the family’s other daughter, who is in grade 9, to pursue tertiary education after she finishes high school.