THREE young children burnt to death in Chris Hani informal settlement yesterday after their mother had left them alone while she went to the shops.
Police had to step in to prevent the mother from being beaten up by angry neighbours after the horror death in the informal settlement near New Brighton in Port Elizabeth.
The Vena children – Nkosinathi, 5, Jonela, 3, and Nokuthula, aged 18 months – were burnt beyond recognition and their humble shack reduced to cinders at 7.30am yesterday.
Distraught mother Phamela Vena said: “I just left to go to the shops to buy my daughter a Coke. One of my neighbours came running up to me and told me that my home was on fire. When I arrived, I saw my house was on fire and my neighbours were trying to fight (it) with buckets of water.”
She said the children had been awake and playing when she left.
The eldest child, Nkosinathi, was physically disabled and unable to walk. His body was found lying on the bed, and Vena‘s daughters were found sitting together on the floor.
Vena said she did not know how the fire had started nor why the children had not tried to flee.
Police, who have opened an inquest docket, said the fire could have started when a paraffin lamp was knocked over.
Local residents held a prayer service around the smoldering ruins of the home.
One of Vena‘s neighbours said: “This was totally avoidable. We told her she must stop leaving her children alone.
“All she had to do was ask one of us to look after them, but she never brought them to us.”
Police spokesman Captain Hazel Mqala said: “The mother is lucky that the police and emergency services arrived when they did, as the local community members were threatening to beat the mother for her negligence. We were able to defuse the situation.” - The Herald
Police had to step in to prevent the mother from being beaten up by angry neighbours after the horror death in the informal settlement near New Brighton in Port Elizabeth.
The Vena children – Nkosinathi, 5, Jonela, 3, and Nokuthula, aged 18 months – were burnt beyond recognition and their humble shack reduced to cinders at 7.30am yesterday.
Distraught mother Phamela Vena said: “I just left to go to the shops to buy my daughter a Coke. One of my neighbours came running up to me and told me that my home was on fire. When I arrived, I saw my house was on fire and my neighbours were trying to fight (it) with buckets of water.”
She said the children had been awake and playing when she left.
The eldest child, Nkosinathi, was physically disabled and unable to walk. His body was found lying on the bed, and Vena‘s daughters were found sitting together on the floor.
Vena said she did not know how the fire had started nor why the children had not tried to flee.
Police, who have opened an inquest docket, said the fire could have started when a paraffin lamp was knocked over.
Local residents held a prayer service around the smoldering ruins of the home.
One of Vena‘s neighbours said: “This was totally avoidable. We told her she must stop leaving her children alone.
“All she had to do was ask one of us to look after them, but she never brought them to us.”
Police spokesman Captain Hazel Mqala said: “The mother is lucky that the police and emergency services arrived when they did, as the local community members were threatening to beat the mother for her negligence. We were able to defuse the situation.” - The Herald
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