Heavy rains in parts of Limpopo have brought pain to some families. Seven people have drowned in overflowing rivers in the past two months.

Two 10-year-old boys drowned in the Phalala River at Ga-Seleka outside Lephalale in Limpopo last week. The body of one of them is still missing. Police have temporarily stopped the search due to the potential danger from wild animals in the river.

The mother of one of the boys who drowned outside Lephalale is struggling to come to terms with her son’s death. Thapelo Maropola and a friend, Jan Monare were swept away by a strong current on New Year’s Day. They were swimming with friends when they drowned.

Maropola’s body has not been found despite a search by police and community members. His distraught mother has accused the police of abandoning the search prematurely.

“I am very much hurt by the drowning of my son; I am appealing to the police to hire divers so that they can retrieve my child. It’s only when they found my child that I can find peace,” says Martha Maropola.

The community says this is not the first drowning incident in the Phalala River.

They say in 2020, two boys drowned and their bodies were never found. Residents have continued the search for Maropola’s body and they want authorities to assist them.

“We are here to search for ourselves because the police have failed us, we tied ropes in ourselves and search the police came here and used drones. They said they could not dive into the water because they were afraid of crocodiles, we decided to go in because we know there are no crocodiles in this river,” says Samuel Matlou.

“What we want is government to call parents and have an awareness on how they can protect their kids during this raining seasons,” says Mohau Mojapelo.

Police have cautioned residents to stay away from swollen rivers during rainy seasons. They say they temporarily abandoned the search for Maropola due to the potential danger posed by hippos and crocodiles in the river.

“Divers were summoned to Phalala River after three people, two young boys and an adult, drowned on the 1st of January. The police working closely with emergency services personnel managed to retrieve two bodies and had to temporarily call of the search due to a hippo that eventually charged at the search team. This was not the first incident. On the 7th of February 2024 a 10-year-old boy was allegedly attacked by a crocodile, that appeared in Phalala River,” says Limpopo police sopesperson Brigadier Hlulani Mashaba.

Meanwhile, a man drowned in the same river several kilometres away at Thabo Mbeki village on New Year’s Day, the same day the two boys drowned. His body was recovered.

Two boys also drowned in the Luvuvhu River outside Saselemani.

In another incident, two boys drowned while fishing at the Kgwaritsi River in the Sekhukhune district two months ago.

Video: Families accuse police following drowning tragedy in Ga-Seleka