Two weeks after his daughter’s death at a daycare centre and two postmortems later, a grief-stricken East London father is still not satisfied with the official explanation for her death.
Mandla Kameni, 38, said his ex-wife Lynne Joyi dropped off their four-year-old, Ayola Kameni, at a daycare and pre-school in Amalinda on Tuesday November 15.
Three hours later the centre owner Rodney Parsons called him on his cellphone to tell him his daughter had died in her sleep.
Her fifth birthday would have been on December 19.
Kameni was in Bloemfontein for work and Joyi rushed to the scene.
“They said she took a nap with other children and when it was time for the children to wake up my daughter could not wake up.”
He wants more answers and does not believe the story.
Kameni said also he wants answers from the law. “I want justice for my daughter.”
Police spokesman Captain Mluleki Mbi said the inquest docket opened in the wake of the girl’s death was later closed when the postmortem concluded that the cause of death was natural.
“No foul play is suspected.”
Eastern Cape health spokesman Sizwe Kupelo said the child died of natural causes.
He said a wound on the child’s head the father referred to, was “normal” as it was a result of a postmortem operation.
“The child died of natural causes. There were two diagnoses; one was a problem with the child’s heart valve and the other a brain tumour.
“However, if the father wants a second opinion he can request an order from the court for the body to be exhumed and the department will appoint an independent specialist to conduct another postmortem,” Kupelo said.
East London GP Diya Appavoo described the diagnosis of Ayola suddenly dying of a brain tumour as a “rare diagnosis. Firstly, I am very shocked to hear how the child died. It is a rare condition which is not clear from the beginning. Symptoms will include drowsiness, vision, movement and speech impairment. The illness starts like a tiny seed and then slowly grows”.
Kameni, who is a nurse, said he noticed a glaring wound on his daughter’s head close to the forehead.
Parsons said there was no foul play.
“The child walked in just after 10am that morning – she was late because her mother had taken her to the clinic.
“She was brought in here and she went in to take a nap with other children.
“When other children woke up, she did not wake up. My wife performed CPR on the girl and I called the ambulance. She was certified dead by paramedics on the scene. She did not have any wound,” Parsons said.
“I understand the father’s pain. Any parent would be upset by this,” he said.
Kameni said he did not understand why his daughter would just drop dead without showing symptoms of her heart and brain condition.
Joyi said she took the child to the clinic for immunisation, but the child had not been immunised as she had already been immunised on November 1 at the daycare centre.
“It is not that I took my child to the clinic because she was sick, no she was not,” said Joyi.
Ayola was buried last Saturday in a village outside Komga. — zwangam@dispatch.co.za
Grieving dad fighting for answers
Mandla Kameni, 38, said his ex-wife Lynne Joyi dropped off their four-year-old, Ayola Kameni, at a daycare and pre-school in Amalinda on Tuesday November 15.
Three hours later the centre owner Rodney Parsons called him on his cellphone to tell him his daughter had died in her sleep.
Her fifth birthday would have been on December 19.
Kameni was in Bloemfontein for work and Joyi rushed to the scene.
“They said she took a nap with other children and when it was time for the children to wake up my daughter could not wake up.”
He wants more answers and does not believe the story.
Kameni said also he wants answers from the law. “I want justice for my daughter.”
Police spokesman Captain Mluleki Mbi said the inquest docket opened in the wake of the girl’s death was later closed when the postmortem concluded that the cause of death was natural.
“No foul play is suspected.”
Eastern Cape health spokesman Sizwe Kupelo said the child died of natural causes.
He said a wound on the child’s head the father referred to, was “normal” as it was a result of a postmortem operation.
“The child died of natural causes. There were two diagnoses; one was a problem with the child’s heart valve and the other a brain tumour.
“However, if the father wants a second opinion he can request an order from the court for the body to be exhumed and the department will appoint an independent specialist to conduct another postmortem,” Kupelo said.
East London GP Diya Appavoo described the diagnosis of Ayola suddenly dying of a brain tumour as a “rare diagnosis. Firstly, I am very shocked to hear how the child died. It is a rare condition which is not clear from the beginning. Symptoms will include drowsiness, vision, movement and speech impairment. The illness starts like a tiny seed and then slowly grows”.
Kameni, who is a nurse, said he noticed a glaring wound on his daughter’s head close to the forehead.
Parsons said there was no foul play.
“The child walked in just after 10am that morning – she was late because her mother had taken her to the clinic.
“She was brought in here and she went in to take a nap with other children.
“When other children woke up, she did not wake up. My wife performed CPR on the girl and I called the ambulance. She was certified dead by paramedics on the scene. She did not have any wound,” Parsons said.
“I understand the father’s pain. Any parent would be upset by this,” he said.
Kameni said he did not understand why his daughter would just drop dead without showing symptoms of her heart and brain condition.
Joyi said she took the child to the clinic for immunisation, but the child had not been immunised as she had already been immunised on November 1 at the daycare centre.
“It is not that I took my child to the clinic because she was sick, no she was not,” said Joyi.
Ayola was buried last Saturday in a village outside Komga. — zwangam@dispatch.co.za
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