The life of Unecebo Mboteni was cut short when he fell into a pit toilet at a preschool in Mdantsane in the Eastern Cape.
The three-year-old fell into the toilet at Little Champions private preschool last Thursday.
According to reports, one of the teachers noticed that Unecebo was not in class, and when they went to look for him they found him in the toilet.
He was rushed to hospital but died the following day.
Unecebo’s parents, Andiswa and Loyiso Mboteni, said he was a smart, inquisitive young boy with a bright future ahead of him.
“I can’t believe his life was cut short like that,” said his shattered mother.
“I can’t wrap my mind around the fact that I’ll never hold him again. He was such a loving boy, I am going to miss his generous hugs and kisses,” she said.
His father said the family wants the preschool owner to be held accountable.
“Doctors told us that his lungs were filled with faeces and that he was struggling to breathe. I cannot begin to imagine how much he suffered,” said Loyiso.
“That school needs to answer for my son’s death. He had been at that school since last year, and he knew how to use that toilet. I don’t know how this could have happened.”
Unecebo was the youngest of four children.
His death sent shock waves through the province, with many asking how the owner of the preschool was allowed to register it if it did not have proper infrastructure.
DA Eastern Cape shadow education MEC Horatio Hendricks said he would write to the chair of the education portfolio committee, Mpumelelo Saziwa, to ask for a full report on the tragedy.
Children’s rights activist Petros Majola repeated Hendricks’s views, adding that Unecebo’s death needed proper investigation.
Eastern Cape education MEC Fundile Gade said although the department plays a role in providing funding for privately run preschools, the approval to operate is given by local authorities.
“Subsidies are only granted once the centre provides the department with an approval certificate from the local authorities to operate,” he said.
In response to a question in the Eastern Cape legislature late last year, Gade revealed that 427 secondary and high schools and 141 primary schools in the province still used pit latrines.
Several children have died in pit toilets in the province over the last decade.
In March 2023, the body of a four-year-old girl was found in a pit toilet at a primary school in Glen Grey.
In 2018, a five-year-old girl died after falling into a pit toilet at Luna Primary School in Bizana.
Pictured above: Three-year-old Unecebo Mboteni who lost his life after falling into a pit toilet.
Image source: Supplied
