Boy’s death raises child labour concerns
Concern has been raised regarding alleged incidents of child labour on a farm after a 12-year-old boy died.
|||Kimberley - Concern has been raised regarding alleged incidents of child labour on a local farm after a 12-year-old Roodepan boy, Michael Witbooi, died after he was knocked down by a bakkie while apparently working on the farm.
According to the boy’s mother, Sanna Witbooi, who stays in Ivory Park, her son was killed while working on the farm.
“One of the employees from the farm would stop at the railway line in Roodepan and recruit children to work on the farm,” she claimed.
She said that this was not the first time her son was one of the recruits.
“I once went to the farm with the police to fetch my son. When we arrived I saw other children from the area on the farm as well.
“My son’s hand was injured when we fetched him and the police officers asked the farm employee about the injury.
“According to the employee my son hurt his hand on the door, however, the police officer said that the injury could not possibly have been caused by a door.
“My son then confessed and said that the injury was from the feed grinding machine. The police officer gave the man a warning and I left with my child,” Witbooi said.
According to Witbooi, the employee told them that the children only came to the farm to play with the farm owner’s children.
“However, we believe that the children had to feed and look after the animals and grind the feed. Some of the children were paid between R20 and R80 a day.”
Witbooi said she was heartbroken because the family do not know the circumstances leading up to her son’s death.
“We do not know how the incident occurred. The only thing the farm owner told us was that he was sorry and offered to cover all the funeral costs. He said that he was not on the farm at the time of the incident,” she said.
According to the boy’s parents, they only met the owner on Wednesday, although their son was killed last week.
The father of the child, Willem Witbooi, said he will not let the matter lie.
“We cannot just leave the matter there ... we need answers on how this happened. We have lost a life and cannot just carry on as if nothing has happened. Someone needs to take responsibility for this and be prosecuted. We hear that the person who drove over my son is now in Bloemfontein.
“He has never made any contact with us to explain his side or to tell us what happened. I will never have my child back again. If no one takes any action then I will take the law into my own hands. I cannot just let it go.
The farm owner on Wednesday denied that children were being employed on his farm.
“The children from the area walk to my farm because it is nearby. They have stolen some of my things and even my copper wire. We do not employ them on the farm ... they come here and steal things,” he said.
He added that he was not present at the time of the incident.
“I do not know how the incident occurred because I was not on the farm that day. I got a call from one of my employees, who told me that a child had been knocked down. I asked whether the child was still alive and they said he was.
“I told them to rush the child to the hospital as I knew that waiting for an ambulance would take a long time because it was on a farm. They then put the child in the bakkie and took him to the Kimberley Hospital.
“According to my foreman and another employee, who was with him at the time, the child was still alive when they got to the hospital,” the farm owner said.
He admitted that one of his vehicles was involved in the accident.
“The person driving the vehicle is currently in Bloemfontein. The police have contacted him about the matter.”
He added that he was covering all the funeral costs.
“I have made arrangements with the funeral undertaker and will cover all the costs.”
Cosatu’s provincial secretary, Anele Gxoyiya, said they have reported the matter to the provincial Department of Labour.
“We have instructed the department to open a case and investigate the matter. We will also monitor the situation.
“We call on the department to close the farm until the allegations of child labour have been resolved.”
Police spokesman, Lieutenant Sergio Kock, said the police are investigating a case of culpable homicide.
DFA
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