A family from Braamfischerville, Soweto is living a nightmare after their five-year-old son was severely burnt while in the care of an overnight day-care centre. What should have been a safe environment turned into a life-changing tragedy, leaving the young boy with permanent injuries and his family desperate for answers.
Family games
According to the child’s mother, 26-year-old Relebohile Khoete, her son was in perfect health when she left him in the hands of the caregiver. Khoete had recently started a stay-in job in October 2024 and had trusted the day-care to provide a safe space for her child while she worked. However, on 10 November everything changed. She received a call from the caregiver informing her that her son had been burnt, but insisting that “the burns are not bad.”
When she rushed home, she was confronted with a horrifying scene. Her little boy was fighting for his life, covered in severe burns that would later require a six-month stay at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital. Even now, almost a year later, the child’s condition remains dire. His wounds struggle to heal, and he has completely lost his independence. He cannot sit, stand, or use the toilet without assistance. Most of his days are spent lying down in pain and discomfort.
Khoete says the trauma of the situation is made worse by the lack of accountability from the caregiver. She says she has never been given a clear or honest explanation about what truly happened that night. According to the caregiver’s version, she had poured warm water into a bathtub and stepped into the kitchen. When she returned, she claims she found the child inside the tub, already burnt. But this explanation has raised many questions for the mother, who says the caregiver constantly avoids giving details and cannot explain how a sleeping child ended up in boiling water without supervision.
The young mother describes the past year as the most painful period of her life. She spent months travelling daily to the hospital while her son fought to recover. Now, follow-up hospital visits have become a weekly routine. With no job, no stable income, and mounting responsibilities, she says her life has been turned upside-down. Rent still needs to be paid, her child requires constant care, and financial pressure continues to build.
Khoete says she feels abandoned and helpless, but she refuses to give up. What hurts her the most is knowing that her child suffered such devastating injuries in a place designed to protect him. She believes someone must be held accountable, and she is calling for justice so that no other family has to experience such trauma.
Family games
For the family, this has become more than just a tragic accident—it is a painful reminder of how negligence can destroy a child’s future. They hope that speaking out will finally bring answers, responsibility, and justice for their little boy.
