Athandiwe Lalucia

GAUTENG-10 month-old dies in care of Carletonville creche.A father with a "shattered heart" as he put it, took to Facebook to share an experience which is surely every parent's worst nightmare.

Mpho Botlhokwane tells that he dropped off a healthy 10 month-old baby, Atlegang Amogelang Botshela Senkge, at a local Day Care in Oberholzer, Carletonville just past 08h00 on Tuesday, 12 July. This was little Atlegang's seventh day in the care of this place.

"When my girlfriend, Kgopoco Senkge, and I went to fetch my son after 15h00, his body was lifeless. Both his feet and hands were cold and stiff. He was covered in a dark brown/black liquid which had come from his mouth with foam and dried up." He was transported to hospital by a paramedic and declared dead there, although Mpho says he was dead at the creche already.

What confuses Mpho and Kgopoco is the fact that little Atlegang had pillows on top of him and a towel covering his face.
"I am so shattered, I am wondering what happened to my son and I have no answers," Mpho told the Observer.

This distraught father goes on to say that the following day, 13 July, they returned to the day care to collect their little boy's stuff. "Everything was normal to them and the creche was still open with no sign of sympathy or remorse. The previous day the principal seemed shocked, but yesterday it was business as usual."

"I am shattered. I don't know if I will ever recover from losing my healthy little boy." He says that the only explanation they got from staff was that the infant was fine when he fell asleep two hours before his parents made the horrific discovery upon arrival at the creche.

"Who leaves a 10 month-old child unattended for two hours, at what point was a towel put over his face and why, why were there pillows on top of him?" Mpho and Kgopoco have so many unanswered questions.

The Merafong Observer contacted the Day Care owner who said she had no comment. We also enquired with the SAPS about the case which

Teenage pregnancy