We take so much of this life for granted. Things that we feel we are entitled to are easy to pass without appreciation… until you are deprived of that thing. Here you are, reading this post through some instrument of modern-day technology from wherever you are in this big beautiful world. You’ve got the longer end of the stick. We are fortunate. Have you ever woken up and been grateful for clean running water and proper sewerage? Probably not. These things seem arbitrary to be grateful for when looking through rose-coloured lenses. Everything is relative.
For many South Africans, however, luxuries are running water to have a bath and to use a toilet.
Michael Komape was a five-year-old student who drowned in a pit latrine at his school in Limpopo, South Africa. His death was horrific. Numerous schools in the country do not have proper toilet facilities and make use of a “pit latrine”, which, in essence, is a “type of toilet that collects human faeces in a hole in the ground. Urine and faeces enter the pit through a drop hole in the floor, which might be connected to a toilet seat or squatting pan for user comfort.” It is known to be the cheapest form of basic sanitation.
Michael Komape fell into the “pit toilet”, as the dilapidated structure atop the pit latrine buckled under the weight of his little body. Michael Komape drowned in human waste, with his arm stretched out trying to call for help. His death was a result of gross negligence and violations of the Education Department and its failure to honour its duty towards school children in its care. At the time of Michael Komape’s death, this had been a recurring issue raised with the Education Department in Limpopo by several concerned parents, many of whom had also lost their children in the same horrific way.
The Judge in the High Court found that the right to Basic Education (section 29(1) of the Constitution) includes the right to the provision of adequate and safe sanitation facilities at public schools. Let’s not forget that section 28 of the Constitution concerns children’s rights, which lists a child’s right to be protected from abuse, neglect, and degradation, amongst others. The “best interests of a child” are also considered a priority in any matter that affects him/her. It’s safe to say that our Constitution is intended to treat children’s rights as one of utmost concern.
Michael Komape was just one of the countless children who died at the hands of the Education Department which did not provide schools with proper toilet facilities. It was brought to light that replacing each pit latrine with a proper toilet seating structure would have cost the Department less than R500.00 per seat. In fact, the Department said that it would only begin to install safe sanitation structures in eight years.
The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) delivered an admirable judgment in favour of the family of Michael Komape in an endeavour to vindicate the constitutional rights which were so tragically violated. The SCA awarded damages for emotional shock and grief to each member of the Komape family to the total value of R1,4 million, as well as future medical expenses for each member of the Komape family. This was in addition to the structural interdict ordered by the High Court. It required the state to furnish the Court with a report on the number of pit toilets in Limpopo and a comprehensive plan as to how safe and clean toilets will be provided and to do so by a specific date.
Justice is granted. But now what? No amount of compensation would give a family back their son and a five-year-old back his life. Who would he have grown up to be? Would he have been a husband, a father, a doctor?
Every day, we wake up and others die, and the Constitution continues to be a myth to the man on the street. I have hope that we will get better. I have to have hope. Here I am, standing with my invisible placard up in the air with words in bold: “SPREAD LOVE, NOT HATE.” I believe that this planet is full of goodness and inhabited by kind people who strive each day to make even just a corner of this world a better place. Let’s strive to be one of those kind people. Let’s be human with the rest of the humans who need humanity.
What are we doing, South Africa?