Toddler dies after violent Cape Town protest

2012-08-15 09:47

The bus that crashed into homes in Khayelitsha.(File, ER24)

Cape Town - A toddler has died in hospital three weeks after being injured when an out-of-control bus crashed through the walls of his home during a protest in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, it was reported on Wednesday.

The Cape Times reported that the death of 20-month-old Nhlanhla Ngalo last week was the fourth resulting from the service delivery protest.

He was playing in the family shack on August 3 when a Golden Arrow bus crashed through the walls during a violent protest.
Malungisa Ngalo told the newspaper his son sustained a cut on the hip and internal bleeding.

"When I visited him last week, it seemed he was recovering..." he said.

"When I visited him on Thursday morning, they made me sign papers because they said the cut was too deep and they might need to amputate his leg.

"They also told me that the internal bleeding had risen to his lungs."

The family was told later on Thursday that he had died.

The bus driver, Sandile Hoko, lost control of the vehicle after being stoned by protesters.

He died when it crashed into a group of shacks. A man in one of the shacks, Daniel Sass, was injured and died three days later.

Xolela Poncho, 30, died after his truck was stoned, allegedly by protesters on Mew Way, on Monday night.

The City of Cape Town has offered a R50 000 reward for information leading to the successful prosecution of those responsible.

- SAPA