The last time he saw his mother was when he was nine, yet they stayed in the same province. The young boy hardly received a call from his father, and this bothered him. Sizwe Luthuli (13) felt unwanted by the two people who were supposed to love him. The teenager who lived in abject poverty with his grandmother in Dumaneni in Olundi in KwaZulu Natal felt unwanted and rejected.

SUSPECTED SUICIDE 

On the evening of 27 February, Sizwe's family found him hanging from a tree, he had committed suicide. His uncle Nondumiso Sikhakhane (32) said they were shocked and called the community to come witness what they had just seen. "We have never seen such in our community especially a small boy like Sizwe killing himself. The police also came and ruled his death a suicide. It was heart breaking,' Sikhakhane said. 

 REJECTED EVEN IN DEATH 

 Sikhakhane told ZiMoja that after Sizwe's death they first called his mother to inform her about her son's passing. She promised to be home for her son's funeral arrangements but disappeared soon after that, the family hasn't been able to reach her on her cellphone. "We were able to get hold of his father who came for two days and later disappeared,' added the uncle. With the parents' disappearance, Sikhakhane says his aunt cannot afford to bury Sizwe. 

PLEADING FOR FINANCIAL HELP

 Sikhakhane added that his aunt who is Sizwe's grandmother cannot afford to bury the boy as she only rely on Sassa grant and the whole family relies on the money to survive. It has been three weeks since Sizwe passed away and there is no hope of the family burying him anytime soon. They are now pleading to Good Samaritans to help with funds to bury him. "My aunt who raised Sizwe does not have funds to bury him. She is a pensioner, and I am a student at the University of Zululand. I don't have money to assist her as Sizwe's also disappeared after learning that he is no more. The people whom we thought knew where Sizwe's mother stays no longer knows her whereabouts. This is stressing my aunt who is very old and suffers different comorbidities.  

 
Sikhakhane says they are pleading with anyone to help bury Sizwe since there is no one is working in the family. "This is one of the sad stories I have ever seen. I never thought that a relative of mine can go through this as we were sure that his father will come through for the grandmother who raised their son. This is not right as we see that my aunt is always in tears because she has not buried Sizwe," he said. 

KZN SAPS spokesperson Constable Thenjiswa Ngcobo confirmed the incident. "Ulundi police have opened a case of inquest after the body of a 13-year-old boy was found hanging from a tree at a homestead in Ulundi on 27 February 2023," she said.