By Aneeqa du Plessis
“No person in their right mind would ever want to be the cause of an eight-month-old baby dying.”
These are the words of Bonteheuwel Ward Councilor Angus Mackenzie who spoke on VOC’s Breakfast show on Tuesday morning after the mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of little Mohammed Qiran Canterbury.
Bishop Lavis police are investigating the death of the infant after he allegedly died at his creche last week Friday. Since then, several speculations have mushroomed around the legality of the child-care institution and whether it was registered with the Department of Social Development (DSD) or recognized by the Western Cape Education Department (WCED).
“I verified these claims when they came out and it is hugely problematic [the creche is not registered] but the death of the baby cannot be attributed to an institution being registered,” stated Mackenzie.
Citizens have been hard at work trying to pin the blame on a particular party, but they have been reminded by Mackenzie to act responsibly.
“I’ve been in contact with the family, police, and the Early Child Development (ECD) forum in the area alongside the ECD in question and none of us know the answer that led to the death of this little boy. An autopsy has been done but those results have not been made available yet,” explained Mackenzie.
He encouraged the public to refrain from speculations that may harm the reputation of the parties involved.
“An inquest case has been opened and has been allocated to an investigating officer and that officer is awaiting the results from the pathologist on the cause of the death and at present only the pathologist is privy of the cause of death. So let us not apportion blame to anyone at this time,” said Mackenzie.
“Nobody wishes for this to happen. So, let’s practice patience and stop spreading rumors. We have found out what the cause of death is and if action should take place, then it will happen and the law will run its course,” added Mackenzie.
VOC
