Senzo stayed with his mother as his parents were separated.
His grandmother, Ntombifuthi Jane Nhlapo, said on the day of the incident, she was ironing laundry when she was called outside.
“My second born was cleaning. A young boy came and called her. He mentioned Senzo's name without saying what happened. She came and called me and we ran to the other side and we found him hanging by the tree. The belt was balanced under his chin,” she said.
The shocked grandmother pulled her grandson down and tried to resuscitate him.
“I took off the belt and put him down trying to do CPR. I was screaming and calling people and they came and poured water over him. He opened his eyes once and I heard people saying he should be covered with blankets,” she said.
From there, she couldn’t recall anything else.
She described her grandson as a boy who never got angry and used to dance and also taught other pupils.
“ He was always happy.
“Sometimes he would pick on teachers but he was never an angry child. I am still seeking the answers as to what could have been the reason,” she said.
The school principal, Reginah Marule, said the school lost a legend who was a champion at the school. She said he participated in numerous extramural activities and performed exceptionally well in class.
The school social worker alerted her about the boy's wellbeing for the first time on September 29 and she felt an immediate intervention was required.
“When she [social worker] came to report this matter to me I said this is beyond our control, we have to report immediately to the Department of Education.
“I could feel that this is going somewhere if we did intervene. We called in our psychosocial unit from the district and referred the matter to the social worker. The social worker had arranged a meeting with the grandmother and Senzo and unfortunately, he decided to end his life before they met,” she said.
Gauteng MEC of education Matome Chiloane visited the family on Friday and expressed his condolences.
“This is a loss to education as a sector, a loss to the future,” he said.
He said the school had done what it could to assist Senzo, adding the tragedy had occurred during mental health month.
“The child did indicate that he had these particular [suicidal] thoughts for a while. The school did its level best — brought in counsellors to counsel the child, and brought in NGOs and social workers as well to help the child. Unfortunately during the school holidays, the child had a [re]lapse and decided to take his own life,” said Chiloane.
Senzo’s mother, Boitumelo Hlapo, said the incident occurred while she was on a trip to Durban.
“When I landed [in Durban], they called me and told me the child was involved in an incident and I should come back.”
She booked another flight and immediately returned home.
“When I arrived people were seated and when I asked where he is, they said he is no longer with us, he passed away,” she said.
Boitumelo described her son as a bubbly, smiling boy who was multitalented. She said she knew about the counselling but didn’t divulge what had transpired.
“Yes I know the issue because we once had a conflict between me and him and when we went to the school the social worker came and I explained but it's a normal issue,” she said.
She said they used to be called to the school when he disrespected teachers but he never expressed any emotions that pointed to him being suicidal.
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Father of Randfontein child found hanging from tree doesn't believe it was suicide
Image: Supplied
The father of 12-year-old Senzo Nhlapo, who is believed to have committed suicide, doesn’t believe his child was capable of taking his own life.
Pointing to the tree from which the child allegedly hanged himself with his waist belt in Randfontein last week, James Matebesi said he does not know what happened.
He insisted the branch from which the child was found hanging was too small.
“The circumstances don’t really make sense to me and I don’t know what happened. I was called on Thursday, October 6, that something happened and when I arrived here I found him lying down, covered in a blanket,” he said.
Senzo Nhlapo, a grade 7 pupil at Avanté Primary School, was visiting his grandmother in Denny Mushroom in Randfontein during the school holidays.
Matebesi described his firstborn son as a jovial and bright boy who was full of life and excelled in all his subjects and extramural activities.
He said was possible his child might have been bullied at school and couldn’t talk about it at home.
While a happy and energetic boy he was also naughty like any child.
“I expected a lot from him and he loved school. The boy was excelling in almost all subjects.
“I am broken. Raising a child till that age ... At least when he is 12 you know that he is going somewhere,” he said.
Image: Supplied
Senzo stayed with his mother as his parents were separated.
His grandmother, Ntombifuthi Jane Nhlapo, said on the day of the incident, she was ironing laundry when she was called outside.
“My second born was cleaning. A young boy came and called her. He mentioned Senzo's name without saying what happened. She came and called me and we ran to the other side and we found him hanging by the tree. The belt was balanced under his chin,” she said.
The shocked grandmother pulled her grandson down and tried to resuscitate him.
“I took off the belt and put him down trying to do CPR. I was screaming and calling people and they came and poured water over him. He opened his eyes once and I heard people saying he should be covered with blankets,” she said.
From there, she couldn’t recall anything else.
She described her grandson as a boy who never got angry and used to dance and also taught other pupils.
“ He was always happy.
“Sometimes he would pick on teachers but he was never an angry child. I am still seeking the answers as to what could have been the reason,” she said.
The school principal, Reginah Marule, said the school lost a legend who was a champion at the school. She said he participated in numerous extramural activities and performed exceptionally well in class.
The school social worker alerted her about the boy's wellbeing for the first time on September 29 and she felt an immediate intervention was required.
“When she [social worker] came to report this matter to me I said this is beyond our control, we have to report immediately to the Department of Education.
“I could feel that this is going somewhere if we did intervene. We called in our psychosocial unit from the district and referred the matter to the social worker. The social worker had arranged a meeting with the grandmother and Senzo and unfortunately, he decided to end his life before they met,” she said.
Gauteng MEC of education Matome Chiloane visited the family on Friday and expressed his condolences.
“This is a loss to education as a sector, a loss to the future,” he said.
He said the school had done what it could to assist Senzo, adding the tragedy had occurred during mental health month.
“The child did indicate that he had these particular [suicidal] thoughts for a while. The school did its level best — brought in counsellors to counsel the child, and brought in NGOs and social workers as well to help the child. Unfortunately during the school holidays, the child had a [re]lapse and decided to take his own life,” said Chiloane.
Senzo’s mother, Boitumelo Hlapo, said the incident occurred while she was on a trip to Durban.
“When I landed [in Durban], they called me and told me the child was involved in an incident and I should come back.”
She booked another flight and immediately returned home.
“When I arrived people were seated and when I asked where he is, they said he is no longer with us, he passed away,” she said.
Boitumelo described her son as a bubbly, smiling boy who was multitalented. She said she knew about the counselling but didn’t divulge what had transpired.
“Yes I know the issue because we once had a conflict between me and him and when we went to the school the social worker came and I explained but it's a normal issue,” she said.
She said they used to be called to the school when he disrespected teachers but he never expressed any emotions that pointed to him being suicidal.
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