SICK PUPIL SUFFERS ALONE IN FLAT

MANZINI – Four months of agony seem not to have been enough to soften the heart of a sickly 18-year-old pupil’s father.

Banele Mamba, a Form IV pupil of Ngwane Park High School, has lived with a condition that limits his daily activities. In his earlier years, the teenage boy suffered from a condition where he could not pass stool the normal way, but had to use a pouch which was attached to his stomach to collect his waste after he underwent a short-term colostomy in 2010. According to medlineplusMedical Encyclopedia, colostomy is a surgical procedure that brings one end of the large intestine out through an opening made in the abdominal wall. Stools moving through the intestine drain via the opening into a bag attached to the abdomen. In June this year, Banele yet again went through another operation to reattach the ends of the large intestine. The operation was conducted at the Mbabane Government Hospital. According to a well-placed source, Banele had to make visits to hospital 14 days after the operation for a routine medical check-up but this did not happen due to that the pupil’s father allegedly ‘saw nothing wrong with his son.’

Consequently, Banele experienced some complications after this surgery some of which were extreme enough to keep him away from school. Funding of the operation is said to have been afforded through the school’s efforts. Due to the seriousness of the pain that the pupil was in, the source said teachers engaged Banele’s father and took him to Raleigh Fitkin Memorial Hospital. For months now, the hospital has not been able to assist him because his medical documents he obtained at the Mbabane Government Hospital could not be produced. The source said the school tried several times to bring William Mamba, the father, on board in a bid to speed up the process of getting medical assistance for Banele. “At first, he came to the school for discussions and sometimes would be there when Banele was taken to hospital. However, of late he has been out of reach because he would not pick calls. “The latest report was that William said there were negative effects on Banele’s wound and he did not need to go to hospital. This puzzled the parties who were trying to lend a helping hand,” said the source.

It was also gathered that when William was called on his mobile phone, he no longer picked calls to discuss matters relating to his son’s health. Due to concern over the welfare of the pupil, the school roped in the Social Welfare Department. The school’s efforts to locate the pupil’s family members proved profitable as Banele’s aunt Dudu Shongwe was located around Matsapha. She was also engaged by the school and the social welfare department regarding Banele’s condition. Dudu said before the school brought it to her attention that her late sister’s son was sickly, she did all in her power to avail any assistance that he could. She said she has bought her nephew some groceries and transferred him some money. In addition, Dudu said the last time she saw Banele was last week Wednesday while she was at the school where she had gone to discuss issues around his condition. She also admitted that the social welfare department has consistently communicated with her about her nephew. Banele is Divine Healing Ministries Bishop Nash Shongwe’s grandson from his late eldest daughter.

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