- Sheila Renqe and her three-year-old grandson, Elihle Renqe, were buried in Soweto on Friday.
- The two were among parishioners who were swept away by flash floods during a baptism ceremony in the Jukskei River on December 3.
- Snenhlanhla Renqe, three months old, is still missing.
A Gauteng family buried two relatives who drowned in the Jukskei River while waiting for authorities to find their three-month-old baby who was still missing.
Three-year-old grandmother Sheila Renqe and Elihle Renqe died when they were swept away by the Jukskei River on December 3 during a baptism ceremony. They were buried in Soweto on Friday.
Three-month-old baby Snenhlanhla Renqe is still missing. Her mother, Zikhona Renqe, survived the incident.
Since then fifteen bodies have been recovered. The pastor, Kind Mvundla, survived after parishioners rescued him.
Speaking to News24 on Friday, Sheila’s sister, Elizabeth Mokoarenqe, said the family had suffered a huge loss.
READ | Jukskei drownings: Pastor who led river baptism has not been arrested, police say
“The person we are going to bury here today is my sister. We are hurt by what has happened, we don’t even know what to do as a family. I was even worse because I couldn’t even breathe. we are hurt and broken. We do not wish this on anyone,” Mokoarenqe added.
She said the deaths came as a shock to them because they were unexpected.
Sheila Renqe was buried on Friday in Soweto.
supplied supplied
“We often see these things happen to others. Now that it’s hit us, we understand that yes, in fact, this really does happen.”
The family delayed the funeral in the hope that authorities would locate Snenhlanhla.
Mokoarenqe said:
It is painful that today we will only bury two people as the three-month-old baby has not been found. Nobody tells us what is happening. At this point, we ask you to [the rescue team] they do everything they can to find the baby so that it can be buried along with its grandmother.
He added that the family still needed answers from the priest who led the baptism. He has been missing since the incident.
“We need the pastor to give us a clue as to what happened. We want to know what happened by the river and what happened to the boy. He’s the one with the answers.”
Gauteng police said an investigation file was opened.
READ | Storm damage: Joburg still awaits a response to its intention to declare a local state of disaster
“The pastor was found four days after the incident and the police obtained a statement from him. Once the investigations are complete, the file will be taken to the investigative court for a decision,” said police spokesman Lt. Col. Mavela Masondo.
Gauteng Emergency Medical Services said the search for Snenhlanhla resumed on Wednesday.
“As you will remember, we said we would resume the search after four or five days to allow the water levels to subside. This was done to allow our team access to the filters,” added the spokesman for the emergency services of the city of Johannesburg, Xolile Khumalo. .
