By Lungani Zungu
Zahara Haraun is clutching onto treasured memories after her eight-year-old daughter Rahma Rashide drowned during the heavy rainfalls in KwaZulu-Natal.
The locals have been painstakingly searching for Rahma’s missing body since Friday when she was swept away while trying to cross the low-lying bridge over the Msunduzi River in Pietermaritzburg.
“She was a bright and respectful young girl. I miss her. I miss her smile. I will be happy if I find the body of my child to bury her with dignity,” said the grieving Zahara, sobbing.
The family is originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo but has been living in the country for over a decade.
The young Rahma was a Grade 2 pupil at the Ashdown Primary School in Pietermaritzburg.
Ever since her daughter drowned, Zahara can’t eat and can barely sleep at night.
“Memories just come flashing back when I try to sleep at night. I’m unable to eat when I don’t even know where the body of my child is.”
Telling of the tragic day when her daughter drowned, she said they were trying to cross the bridge to their home when another man offered to help her carry her daughter across the river.
As she was trying to hand over her daughter to the unknown man, she slipped out of her hands, and that was the last time she would see Rahma.
Ward councillor Dumisani Phungula said: “We will continue searching for her body until we find her. We have searched since Friday, but we have not been lucky yet.”
Rahma – a second-born of four siblings – is confirmed as the only casualty of the disruptive rainfall in KZN and other parts of the country – that left many people homeless.
A Msinga family narrowly escaped death when a house collapsed, leaving family members with serious injuries and still recovering in hospital.
The KZN government said it is counting the cost of the damage.
However, the cost could not be equated to the trail of destruction following the April floods, where more than 400 people died, and thousands were homeless.
The damage to property – roads, buildings and other infrastructure – was estimated to cost billions of rands to fix.
Many people are still homeless following the April floods.
Pictured above: Eight-year-old Rahma Rashide who drown in Pietermaritzburg following last week’s heavy rainfall in KZN
Image source: Supplied
