Relief tinged with horror filled the hearts of community members and education officials on Monday when a missing five-year-old boy was found locked in a room at a remote building in Cradock. The classroom is about four kilometres from the school’s main building.
Masonwabe Mapolisa survived the coldest weekend of the year locked in a room that is used as a classroom but is not part of the main complex.
Masonwabe Mapolisa (5) who was locked in an icy classroom at a Cradock school for three days. (Photo: Supplied)
He is in a critical condition after being airlifted to Dora Nginza Hospital in Nelson Mandela Bay for specialist treatment.
He has not yet been able to relate what happened to him.
When he failed to return home on Friday afternoon, his family went to the police station and reported him missing. The circumstances of how he ended up locked in the classroom are not yet clear.
The spokesperson for the Eastern Cape education department, Malibongwe Mtima, said heads should roll over what happened.
“We have launched a full-scale investigation. We want to find out what happened. Should anyone be [liable], that person will face the full wrath of the law. This is a child we are talking about. Educators should supervise that all learners leave the premises [after school],” he said.
The Cradock police on Friday alerted Karoo communities to the boy’s disappearance, but no information was forthcoming. He was found when school reopened on Monday.
Temperatures plummeted across the Eastern Cape over the weekend and a warning for extremely cold weather was issued by the South African Weather Service.
A relative of the boy, Sandiswa Kwajari, said: “He was not in good condition at all and he was rushed to the hospital in Cradock and later airlifted by helicopter to Gqeberha for further treatment.”
The DA’s Midlands constituency leader, Kobus Botha, called for a speedy investigation into how the child came to be locked inside a classroom.
“We pray that he will be blessed with a full recovery… We also want the Department of Education to launch an internal investigation into the allegedly negligent conduct of the teachers involved and the school transport policies in this regard,” Botha said.
Masonwabe remained in critical condition on Tuesday night. DM/MC
