'Our hearts are in pain': Khayalethu Magadla's mother remembers her son

The family of six-year-old Khayalethu Magadla, who fell into a manhole while playing with friends last month, has thanked the emergency services and South Africans for helping to search for him and for their prayers.

Magadla's body was found last Saturday afternoon at the Eldorado Park Cemetery wastewater plant three weeks after he went missing. 

Search and recovery divers had been traversing the sewer system since he disappeared on June 12 in Dlamini Park, Soweto.

The memorial service took place on Friday.

His mother, Smangele Magadla, described how her son used to love cake and jumping.

“Our hearts are in pain,” she said, failing to contain her emotions.

In an audio recording played during the memorial, Smangele described the moments her son went to school and how happy he was.

It was quiet without him and she was still trying to cope.

“He has left us still young. His disappearance into the hole shocked us. He loved to jump, he would jump to poles and go up.

“We asked when we were still looking and the workers worked and you came with your prayers — everyone all over SA felt bad by Khaya's disappearance. You helped us to search for him. Today [Friday] we are saying thank you for praying for us,” she said.

Family representative Sam Magadla said they would celebrate his body being found. Magadla also thanked the search team.

“We don't know who prayed for us, only God knows. Today we want to thank God that we have found Khaya.

“We also thank all those who were assisting, looking for him. I take off my hat for them, they have worked — they searched through the pipes,” he said.

Some emergency personnel who were part of the search team were in attendance, as well as some city officials.

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