The teacher of 14-year-old Sipho Fokile, who drowned in Grahamstown during the weekend, struggled to hold back the tears yesterday as she told Grocott's Mail about the boy – a diligent pupil who never got into trouble, "lively and always in good spirits".
The teacher of 14-year-old Sipho Fokile, who drowned in Grahamstown during the weekend, struggled to hold back the tears yesterday as she told Grocott's Mail about the boy – a diligent pupil who never got into trouble, "lively and always in good spirits".
Sipho, a Grade 8 pupil at Nathaniel Nyaluza and a member of the school's U15 rugby squad, died during a swimming session with his friends at Grey Dam during the weekend.
In Saturday's searing heat, he and three friends walked to the dam to cool down. Saturday's maximum temperature was 30 C.
Grahamstown police spokesperson, Captain Mali Govender, said the boys jumped into the water around 2.30pm – but it turned out that Sipho couldn't swim.
When he started to struggle, Govender said, his friends came to help him and managed to pull him out of the water. But he jumped into the water a second time. "His friends tried to pull him out but did not succeed," said Govender.
A group of Rhodes students gathered nearby also tried to help, unsuccessfully.
A police diver from Port Alfred was called to the scene. When he arrived, Sipho had been underwater for just over two hours. He was certified dead by paramedics.
Yesterday morning Grocott's Mail spoke to Sipho's class teacher, Bukelwa Gxekwa.
"He was good at his studies and he was always in good spirits at school. I've never had any problems with him," she said of the lively boy, tears welling in her eyes.
Gxekwa had yet to tell Sipho's classmates about the tragedy – and she was dreading it.
"I don't know what to tell them really. They are so young – but I have to inform them. Some of them probably know already, but I have to officially tell them what happened," said Gxekwa.
A member of the U15 rugby squad, the last big tournament Sipho participated in was the Heritage Day Sports Tournament at Miki Yili Stadium.
Nathaniel Nyaluza principal, Mango Nkwinti, described Sipho as a well-behaved pupil.
"I used to call him Forkle in my English class (an affectionate derivation from Sipho's surname, Fokile)," he chuckled.
Nkwinti said the school would wait for feedback from the family before making a decision about a memorial service for Sipho – "But I can assure you, we will have a memorial service for him."
