Circumstances surrounding the drowning of a 28-year-old man from Zwelethemba has left his family and the community with more questions than answers.
This comes after his body was found floating in the De la Bat Public Swimming Pool on Monday morning (24 January).
Luyolo Mbuqe and his family had been at the pool on Saturday 22 January to try and cool off from the scorching heat. Little did they know their visit was a tragedy waiting to occur.
As with most people at the pool, Mbuqe got into the swimming pool and by closing time he had not returned to where his family had sat.
His family then approached the lifeguard on duty to inform him of Mbuqe’s disappearance.
“He had left his clothes where we were sitting and went to take a swim in his swimming trunks,” a cousin related, “and after a while we saw the swimming pool was becoming empty as people were leaving.”
Mbuge’s family say they searched for him, but when there was no sign of him they went home hoping he would be there later.
The family went to the swimming pool again on Sunday morning to enquire after his whereabouts, only to be told there was still no sign of him there.
The family says they would like to know how it was possible for someone to disappear on municipal premises and also questioned why the municipality did not close the pool until he was found.
According to a statement released by the BVM, the family requested for the premises to be checked again on Sunday and the lifeguard informed the family that a search would be conducted. However, no positive leads could be made at the time.
“In an internal municipal investigation launched into this tragic event it was confirmed the lifeguard had conducted a physical search of the pool by diving into it,” said municipal spokesperson JP Myburg. “Unfortunately, the search did not yield any positive leads.”
His mother, Thandeka Timati, told Standard she had reported her son missing at Zwelethemba Police Station around 19:00.
“If he was not coming home he would call to let me know,” she said.
On Monday morning his lifeless body was found floating in the swimming pool at approximately 07:10.
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