SUNHERO Luthando Guquka (24) from Makhaza in Cape Town is traumatised after his father Manelisi Guquka (61) and a young child died in a horrible fire.
But through his brave action, Luthando managed to save other family members.
Luthando came home at about 10pm on 2 August and saw that a fire had broken out under the TV.
Luthando realised his sister Busisiwe’s room was already on fire. He rushed and dragged Busisiwe (29) and her son Omiyo (8) out. He tried to get into his father’s room but the flames and a blanket of smoke covered his entry.
“I heard my father screaming but I couldn’t get in. I ran around to the window and grabbed my father. Just when it looked as if I might get him out, he slipped back into the fire, and the heat and smoke were too much,” he said. Firefighters arrived after Luthando’s father had already stopped screaming.
After putting out the fire, they also realised Busisiwe’s three-year-old daughter Yamihle had also burnt to death.
“I don’t know if I will ever heal from this.
“My biggest challenge is to give my father and my niece a decent funeral as I work part-time as a taxi conductor,” he said.
“My father sold sheep’s heads by the roadside. He didn’t have a funeral policy. I would like to bury him in the Eastern Cape where we buried my mother three years ago,” said Luthando.
Family friend Phumeza Gosani (46) said: “If anyone can assist the family, we will be grateful.”
Fire and Rescue spokesman Edward Bosch said: “It took firefighters 30 minutes to put out the fire. Sadly, one adult male and one female minor succumbed to fatal burn wounds.”
Busisiwe was still in hospital with serious burns.
Counsellor Nompumelelo Nelani Ndika-Ndika promised to assist Luthando with counselling.
“He needs help because of this traumatic experience,” she said.
