Nontsikelelo Litye remembers March 25 1996 vividly. It was the day her life changed forever, the last time she heard her son, who was two-and-a-half-years old at the time, speak.
Kwanele Litye had had a high fever, which resulted in him suffering a fit.
“What I’d like is a safe place for him to live, with people who are trained to care for people with his condition. He’s not safe here at all. Sometimes people burn shacks here.
What would I do if that happened to him? I’m never at ease.
“When I’m at work I’m thinking of him, locked up at home,” Litye said.
Litye has two other children, Zolani and Zimkhitha. Kwanele is her youngest.
Zimkhitha said it was not easy growing up with Kwanele.
“My peers would make fun of me because sometimes he’d undress in the streets and I’d have to go fetch him,” explained the daughter who is now based in Pretoria and only home for a short visit.
Litye said Kwanele responds well to Zimkhitha, who manages to calm him down.
In January this year the Daily Dispatch reported on another case where a mentally ill man from Duncan Village had been given epilepsy medication for years and never assessed for his deteriorating mental state.
Siyabonga Solomoni, 25, was kept chained in an empty room behind burglar bars by his parents for his own safety and that of his family. Siphiwe Solomini, his father, approached the Dispatch with his story. Siyabonga has been taken to Kirkwood for observation and has been there since.
“I’ve been there to see him. I could see that he was improving. We are very happy with this development. I even went to Rehab to give a talk about the challenges we faced and how others can overcome them. I’m very grateful to the Dispatch,” said Solomoni.
Though still traumatised, this family has begun picking up the pieces. The other children are more focused at school as they can better focus on their work with Siyabonga no longer a distraction at home. — vuyiswav@dispatch.co.za