ISIPHIWO Primary School in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, held a memorial service on Wednesday for two pupils who died in a shack fire.
Siyamthanda (7) and Anako (8) Vuntu died last week, along with their mum and sibling, inside their shack at Endlovini squatter camp.
Principal Thulani Mxhalisa said: “We are all shocked about what happened. It is painful to lose kids like that.”
Siyamthanda’s teacher, Nosipho Sulelo, described him as someone who liked to play.
“When he first came in, he was very hyper,” said Sulelo.
She told Daily Sun she cried whenever she looked at his empty chair in class.
“I think I’m still in denial. Somehow I believe he’ll come running into class because he liked doing that.”
Anako’s teacher, Lumka Nqweliso said she’d lost a star.
“She was very quiet but bright. She was never absent because her mother dropped them off and picked them up,” said Nqweliso.
Family member Feziwe Mhluzi (68) told Daily Sun: “We didn’t think the school would do this. It shows they care about their pupils.”
Feziwe told Daily Sun the funeral would be held next week.
“We just got the DNA results. That’s why we will be burying them next week,” she said.
