‘Insensitive’, says Mpianzi family as lodge where Enock drowned is renamed

Anton Knoetze, the owner of Nyati Bush and River Break in Brits, where 13-year-old Enock Mpianzi drowned in January, says he has turned to cabbage farming, among other things, for his business to survive.

He has also rebranded the venue where the Grade 8 Parktown Boys’ High pupil died during an initiation camp.

This week, the Gauteng education department said the school’s principal, Malcolm Williams, had been dismissed for sending the schoolboys on unauthorised trip and failing to ensure the correct roll-call procedures were followed.

Knoetze said the name-change was necessary after Mpianzi’s death and the Covid-19 pandemic affected business negatively.  

When Sunday Times Daily visited the venue this week, its gate bore the name Beestekraal Events & Accommodation. 

A March forensic report by Harris Nupen Molebatsi Attorneys into the death of Mpianzi pointed to “negligence and extreme recklessness” on the part of Nyati Bush and River Break lodge, teachers who had accompanied the schoolchildren to the camp and the school.  

“I heard that the principal of the school [was dismissed]. I have no comment. What happened was tragic and affected us all. The media tarnished our name and we were forced to look into moving away from doing business with kids,” Knoetze said.  

However, the venue’s new sign advertises school camps.

“We do bachelor parties, birthdays, weddings  and other functions to keep afloat. Covid killed our business. We have stopped the river activities. It came right after the issue [Mpianzi’s death], so I can’t really measure how much it affected us, but it was devastating. We have a group of adults coming and they don’t want to swim. Anyone can hire our venue now,” he said. 

Knoetze said there had been no safety upgrades to the venue.

“The issue of the boy, it’s not that we didn’t have life jackets, we did have,” he insisted.

Ian Levitt, lawyer for the Mpianzi family, said the rebranding was cause for concern.

“While I am not surprised, it is concerning that prospective clients who utilise their facility in the future will not be aware of the unfortunate deaths that have occurred there in the past,” Levitt said.

The Harris Nupen Molebatsi forensic report was critical of Knoetze after it was confirmed that four other youngsters had died at the lodge. But Knoetze said these drownings related to “unscheduled water activities”. 

“The actions of Nyati, its manager and its facilitators in simply allowing over 200 learners to enter into a river without life jackets in conditions which were clearly risky and dangerous is outrageous and reckless. This is particularly so given Nyati’s fatal history,” Harris Nupen Molebatsi said.

The search for Mpianzi only started the day after he disappeared. His body was discovered the next day, 1,8km downstream.

“It is simply not acceptable for a camp to accept busloads of children, not knowing who they are and then involving those learners in potentially hazardous exercises, including a water exercise involving rafting down a river with strong currents,” the firm added.

“They [the lodge] had 12 life jackets and there were 204 learners at the camp. 

“There is no accurate record at the camp of the attendees ... The result is, 11 boys were not there [after the activity]. When those names were called, nobody said anything,” Harris Nupen Molebatsi said. 

We were not aware that they changed the name, we find it insensitive.

—  Sebastian Kodiemoka, Enock Mpianzi's uncle

Enock’s uncle, Sebastian Kodiemoka, said he was disappointed at the lodge’s attempt to distance itself from the tragedy.  

“We were not aware that they changed the name, we find it insensitive. We don’t understand the intention in doing so, but we will leave that to the courts. They even refused to open doors to the lawyers of the Human Rights Commission. We’re not surprised,” he said. 

A delegation from the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) and Mpianzi’s parents was locked out of the lodge in January. 

After hours of waiting outside, members of the commission and Mpianzi’s parents jumped over the gate. 

Through Levitt, they have lodged a civil claim of R20m against the department of education, Parktown Boys’ High School, Nyati Bush and River Break, the school governing body and Williams in the Pretoria high court.