Thirty-year-old mother, Patricia Sekgoro and her two children Kitso, five, and Bokhutlho, three, were laid to rest on 12 March.
The three died when their shack burnt to ashes on 3 March. It is believed that a burning candle could have caused the fire.
On that fateful night, Patricia and her children were asleep when the fire started. Her 15-year-old daughter, Koketso Sekgoro was at a local tuck shop buying water.
Koketso noticed smoke coming out of her home on her way from the shop, ran home and shouted for help when she struggled to open the door.
She screamed until a neighbour came to assist her; at that time, the blaze had already gathered momentum. Fortunately, 9-year-old Lethabo survived the deadly fire and was taken to the Robert Mangaliso hospital for medical attention.
During the funeral service, the Sol Plaatje Municipality Mayor Patrick Mabilo informed mourners that the Municipality intends to embark on a campaign to educate communities about the dangers of fire.
Mabilo applauded Snake Park’s community for trying very hard to rescue the deceased and saving Lethabo’s life from the deadly blaze.
“Thank you for showing the spirit of Ubuntu at the hour of need. On behalf of the Municipality we would like to extend our condolences to the Sekgoro family. May God give you courage during this difficult time. We will continue to work with the family and give them support,” said the Mayor.
Northern Cape Social Development MEC, Nontobeko Vilakazi, also attended the funeral. She indicated that her department provided the grieving family with access to psychologists and groceries for the funeral.
“After hearing the sad news, we met with the family to offer our support, particularly to the children whose birth certificates were destroyed in the fire. Our social workers will help them get new birth certificates and arrange a foster care grant,” said Vilakazi.
The family’s representative, Dimakatso Mancwe, said that they are very hurt as they never expected to lose their family members in such a tragic manner.
“We are trying to come to terms with this tragedy, it’s difficult to handle. We thank the community of Snake Park for their support and assisting us with everything,” said Mancwe.
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