SOCIAL INJUSTICE: ‘He was a fighter, we lost a hero’ – loved ones bid Oratile (13) farewell seven years after pit toilet tragedy

Attending the funeral of a child is always heartbreaking, but what made Oratile Diloane’s funeral even more painful was the injustice the young boy endured after falling into a pit toilet at his primary school when he was only five years old. 

Loved ones and community members gathered at the Diloane family home in Kanana in North West on Friday to pay their final respects to Oratile. The 13-year-old’s funeral was not only an opportunity for mourners to celebrate his life, but also air their disappointment over the lack of accountability surrounding the 2016 incident.

There wasn’t a dry eye in the tent as Oratile’s aunt Melita Diloane recounted how the boy sustained the injuries that ultimately led to his death last weekend.

“After Oratile fell into the toilet in 2016, the school didn’t even notify us about what had happened. They just washed his clothes, cleaned him and dropped him off on the pavement outside his house, where no one was home. Luckily, he had the presence of mind to come to my house, and when I saw him, I could see the fear in his eyes. I knew something terrible had happened,” Melita Diloane said.

What happened to Oratile was only revealed when a neighbour asked his mother, Refilwe Diloane, if the then five-year-old was okay because the neighbour’s son had told her that Oratile had fallen into the toilet at school. But even when Refilwe went to the school to ask what had happened, the principal denied that the incident had occurred, a denial that is still maintained to this day.

Read more: Oratile (13) tragically dies after falling into ‘deathtrap’ North West school pit toilet

Melita Diloane said Oratile sustained injuries to his head, as well as cuts and bruises, which resulted in the child developing hypoxia and hydrocephalus, which left him with neurological deficiencies. For the remaining seven years of his life, Oratile suffered through temporary blindness, multiple hospital visits and ultimately lost the use of his hands and legs. Before he died, Oratile could not walk or talk.

“Oratile was a hero. We lost a hero. That boy fought,” his aunt said.

Refilwe took the Department of Education to court, but the North West High Court in Mahikeng ultimately ruled in favour of the department in 2023. Judge Ronald Hendricks dismissed the mother’s claim because she failed to prove that Oratile had fallen into the pit toilet.

The story of Oratile’s short life is not just one of avoidable tragedy, but it’s also the story of a child whose family says was failed by his school, failed by the government and failed by the legal system.

Loved ones say final goodbyes

“Oratile was a beautiful child. He was a flower. He was so smart and used to tell me stories all the time every time you spoke with him, it was like a revelation. But after he got hurt at school, instead of telling the truth about what happened, they told me I brought them a child with mental disabilities,” Refilwe Diloane said, addressing the mourners.

“My beloved son, as I say goodbye, I take comfort in knowing that you are finally at peace. Your suffering has ended, and you are in a place where there is no more pain and sorrow. I miss you every day, but I know that you are with me in spirit. Your memory is in my heart, and I will always cherish every moment we shared,” Refilwe said in her final message to her son.

One by one, the people who loved Oratile stood by his casket, recounting stories of how the young boy loved to laugh and dance and who was a smart child with a bright future before he fell into the pit toilet.

“You could not get anything past Oratile. You know how to play tricks on children, but even when he was small, he was too smart to fall for it,” a neighbour said.

“Oratile was a miracle baby. He shared his love and kindness with us every chance he got. He fought, but God finally answered his prayers. He would always say, ‘God, please heal me now’. It is his time to rest,” his sister, Neo Diloane, said.

With Oratile laid to rest and his suffering finally over, the family’s one wish is that he gets the justice he deserves.

“Oratile can never rest peacefully until he has been given justice. There will come a day when the people who failed Oratile, the people who tried to hide what happened to him, will be asked, ‘What happened to Oratile,’ and the truth will finally come out, and they will not be able to hide it,” Oratile’s uncle, Johnny Diloane, said. DM