A Simon’s Town Primary School learner walked 35 kilometres from his school to his home in Khayelitsha after being denied entry onto a Golden Arrow Bus Service (GABS) bus due to a lost ticket.
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The Grade 6 learner, Lifalethu Mbasana (11) along with his two siblings, aged 10 and 7, typically take the GABS bus at around 2:30pm to Makhaza each day.
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However, on Monday, when it was Lifalethu’s turn to present his ticket after his siblings had boarded, he couldn’t find it and was instructed by the driver to get off the bus.
When it became clear that her son hadn’t taken a later bus and wasn’t on the last bus home, Xolelwa Siba Mbasana contacted her husband, GABS and the Simon’s Town police, leading to searches and patrols.
According to IOL, a picture of the missing boy and details of his last known location were widely shared on social media in the evening.
As reports came in from people who had seen him walking in Muizenberg and earlier in Strandfontein, it dawned on his mother that he was attempting to walk all the way home.
‘Immediately when the bus left, my son tried to follow the bus and started to walk home all the way from Simon’s Town to Khayelitsha,’ she said.
‘He kept on asking people about time because he usually gets home at about 5pm. So when he discovered that it was half past five and he was still in Muizenberg, that’s when he lost it and started to run.’
At around 10:10pm, a group of about 15 people with torches arrived at her gate with Lifalethu, calling her name.
The boy recounted his journey home, mentioning how he was spotted and offered a lift in Mitchells Plain and then dropped off at an exit. He continued walking and was accompanied by a stranger from Mitchells Plain to Harare, where law enforcement officers recognised him and took him into their care.
‘That is something I will never ever forget. Maybe there were other means but he walked all the way from Simon’s Town when his bus left him behind. When he got home, he looked like a crippled little boy. His whole body was sore. His shoulders are still sore. He’s limping like an injured young man,’ Mbasana said.
The mother has called for the driver’s dismissal.
‘That guy that left my son behind, what was he thinking?
‘Everybody knows, once a child is declared missing, they end up dead,’ Mbasana said.
‘We only discover their bodies. So I will never forget this and I don’t want any other person to experience this. This should never happen. We were blessed to have our child home and safe but we do not know what will happen tomorrow to another child.’
GABS public relations manager Bronwen Dyke-Beyer stated that the driver has been suspended and that GABS was involved in the search for the learner. GABS also visited the family on Monday night, she said.
‘Golden Arrow can confirm that company policy is to assist uniformed scholars in situations where they have lost their Gold Cards and that the driver who failed to do so has been suspended. We have undertaken to review all mechanisms related to lost scholar tickets to ensure that protocol is followed in such cases,’ Dyke-Beyer said.
Western Cape Education Department (WCED) spokesperson Bronagh Hammond expressed sadness upon hearing that the learner had to walk such a long distance.
‘Learners in this position should return to the school and seek assistance from one of the staff members.’
Transportation of learners via the department’s learner transport scheme applies to those living outside a 5km radius of their nearest school and where no public transport is available, Hammond said.
Lifalethu is currently recovering after his arduous eight-hour journey.
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Picture: ER Lombard / Gallo Images