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Education minister clarifies drowning of 4 year-old in a pit toilet

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Basic Education Minister, Angie Motshekga, has clarified that Langa lam Viki’s death did not occur at her school, as the facility’s sanitation infrastructure was in proper working order.

Viki, a four-year-old pre-schooler, was found drowned near an adult pit latrine in the Eastern Cape earlier this month.

Her mother visited the school to inquire about her whereabouts after she failed to come home. Motshekga was speaking during a media briefing in Pretoria.

“The school at which she died, there was new and proper sanitation. So, she didn’t die because we did not as government replace old toilets. What happened is there were old toilets, which unfortunately were not demolished, far away from the school from where she drowned. Langlam was found in the tank of a senior toilet, not appropriate for her as she was found in the adult section. She was even too young to lift the manhole that covers the lid. So the manhole lid was removed. It is a very sad death for a young kid to be found at the tank of the pit latrines, at the back of the toilets.”

Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga addresses the media

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