A Cape Town family has been left without answers after their 8-month-old son died inexplicably after being taken to Vanguard Day Hospital by the staff of Linda’s Daycare in Bonteheuwel. Mohammed Qiran Canterbury passed away on Friday afternoon and was buried on Saturday, but his parents are still unsure of the circumstances that led to his death.
The little boy was reportedly declared dead upon his arrival at Vanguard Day Hospital.
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Mohammed’s parents, Zaidah Adams and Tashreeq Canterbury, told News24 that their son was ‘sweet’ and always ‘smiling’, and said they couldn’t understand why the owners of the daycare centre were avoiding their repeated inquiries.
‘We are so heartbroken, and our home feels empty,’ said Adams.
‘My child died while in the care of the crèche. They have not been forthcoming about what happened to him. We buried my baby over the weekend without knowing what had happened to him,’ she added.
When Mohammed’s parents dropped him off at the crèche shortly after 6am on Friday, he was his usual self, they said. He was strapped into his pram seat, blanketed, while his father entertained him while they waited for his mother before walking to the crèche. They stated that they usually do not feed him a large breakfast because the crèche provides breakfast for the children. There was no sign of illness when they took him and their 2-year-old daughter to the daycare.
‘I stayed at the crèche for a few minutes longer as I still needed to discuss school fees. I saw him playing in the room,’ Adams recalled.
The grieving parents said they both went to work, believing their children were safe with ‘good, caring people.’ Canterbury, who works in Strandfonetin, said he was out making deliveries when he received a call from one of the teachers shortly after 1:30pm, informing him to rush to the hospital. Canterbury returned to the office to inform his boss that he would be unable to complete his work due to a family emergency. He called his parents and asked them to go to the hospital because they were closer.
Tesneenah Canterbury, Tashreeq Canterbury’s mother, claimed that when she arrived at the hospital first, the doctors told her, ‘We are sorry for your loss.’
Tesneenah described her interaction with the medical staff as ‘shocked, angry and confused’ as they watched as doctors broke the news to her.
‘I went crazy because I didn’t understand what they meant. Just that morning, I saw my grandson, and there was nothing wrong with him. How could he have mysteriously died during the day when there was nothing wrong with him? This still doesn’t make sense to me,’ she told News24.
According to the family, their son’s body was taken to the Salt River Mortuary on Friday evening.
According to Western Cape police spokesperson Sergeant Wesley Twigg, Bishop Lavis police have opened an inquest docket to investigate the baby’s death. Twig stated that the incident’s circumstances are being investigated and that a postmortem was performed to determine the cause of death.
When News24 contacted the crèche owner on Wednesday, they did not respond. However, the crèche confirmed the incident in a WhatsApp message sent to parents.
The message stated that the crèche is doing everything possible to be as transparent as possible with all parties involved, that their thoughts and prayers are with Mohammed’s family and friends, and that they will meet with all parties in due course.
Bronagh Hammond, a spokesperson for the Western Cape Education Department (WCED), said the department would launch an investigation and confirmed the crèche was not registered with the WCED. Canterbury said they were shocked to learn that the crèche was not registered with the WCED and that they had all been led to believe that the crèche was a registered institution. The family now wants the crèche to be closed down in order to prevent any further child deaths.
When asked if the crèche would be forced to close its doors as a result of the death, the department stated that a decision would be made after an investigation, stating that the report would help inform the recommendation.
According to Bonteheuwel ward councillor Angus McKenzie, the boy’s death has shocked the community and left a lasting sadness. To address the incident, he said he contacted the family, the crèche owner and the Bonteheuwel Early Childhood Development Care (ECD) Forum.
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Picture: Angus P McKenzie / Facebook