An elderly woman, whose two grandchildren died in an inferno two weeks ago, said she was still baffled by how the fire broke out.
The 72-year-old Buyiswa Mjaleni was with her grandchildren – five-year-old Avuzwa and his three-year-old sister Avethandwa – when tragedy struck in NU1 Mdantsane.
The children’s mother Chuma Mjaleni was in Potsdam and had left Avuzwa and Avethandwa in the care of their grandmother.
Mjaleni has been hospitalised at Cecilia Makiwane Hospital since the June 29 incident after sustaining severe burn wounds to her legs, hands, arms and face.
Although Mjaleni’s children told the Saturday Dispatch their mother was cooking when she fell asleep, Mjaleni said she had already prepared supper earlier in the day.
“The fire came out of nowhere because I had long finished cooking by that time.
“It was a cold Monday evening and because I am scared of the chill and like to keep warm, I decided to get under blankets in bed with my grandchildren.
“I remember chatting and laughing with my grandchildren while we lay in bed keeping warm, but seemingly later I completely dozed off.”
Mjaleni, who is currently undergoing physiotherapy, said she was woken by a “bright light”.
“I sat up from my bed when I saw a light that looked like crickets rocketing into the sky and people were screaming ‘fire’, but I was still half asleep trying to register what was going on.”
As the blaze became bigger and spiralled out of control, Mjaleni realised her shack was on fire.
“Because the kids were a rowdy crew, I kept wondering where the children were. It was so quiet in the house, I had even thought they dodged me while I slept and went to out to play, because I didn’t hear them. Then I started screaming.”
She said it was only when Fumanekile Nqase entered the shack to rescue her that she started screaming, asking about the children.
Nqase had been in a shack next door with Mjaleni’s daughter and her son when they saw the fire.
“Before I knew it I was in an ambulance and in hospital.”
The following day when Chuma, the mother of the two children visited the hospital, Mjaleni first asked her about the children.
“I could see Chuma was not all right, but she told me the children were safe at home with her cousin, but now I believe she did not want me to stress further about death,” said a tearful Mjaleni.
“I am the one who should’ve died in that blaze, not those two innocent souls that still had the rest of their lives ahead of them.”
“I never even got the chance to say goodbye to them or see them to their last resting place. I am now only left with burn wounds as a terrible reminder of how I lost my grandchildren.” — mbalit@dispatch.co.za