Ntwaagae Seleka

Ntwaagae Seleka

A grade 1 pupil drowned after she was swept away by floods in a street while on the back of her teenage aunt on Monday .

Vuyiswa Mpondo, 6, of Sebokeng, was fetched from school by her aunt, Thandi Mpondo, 19.

Thandi said: "It began raining strongly and the water rose quickly.

"I put Vuyiswa on my back to try and cross the flooded street."

She said while she was standing on the side of the road she was pushed into the flooded street by three school children who were also trying to cross.

"I fought to lift Vuyiswa and keep her above the water, which was higher than my shoulders," she said.

"I tried to save her, but she slipped from my hands and was swept away."

Mpondo and Vuyiswa were saved by a man who heard their screams.

"The Good Samaritan tried to resuscitate Vuyiswa, but she died before the ambulance could arrive."

Vuyiswa's mother, Dipuo, 28, and her two children live in a shack in a squatter camp and sometimes sleep on empty stomachs.

Dipuo is unemployed and relies on neighbours and relatives for food. She said when the incident took place she had gone to beg for food from relatives.

"I don't know how I am going to bury my baby. I don't even have an identity document," she said in tears.