Swallowed by the Ocean

The families of two boys who drowned on a school trip open up about their heartbreak and loss

- By Seokwang

THE family home in Tembisa, Gauteng, is too small to accommodate all those who’ve come to honor the young man whose life was cut short. Mourners stream into the tent that’s been pitched outside the house, offering support to his grieving parents.

Philemon Malatswa can’t believe his treasured son Malatswa Kgothatso Kgasago is gone. They had big plans to celebrate his 18th birthday on 10 April, but instead, the family are burying him the day before his birthday.

Malatswa (17) and his schoolmate Kamsi Ezeugo (15) drowned at a Durban beach a few weeks ago. The boys, who attended Hoërskool Birchleigh in Kempton Park, were on a school trip to take part in a rugby tournament when tragedy struck.

The teens had gone swimming with other learners and their teachers at Durban North Beach when the group ran into trouble. Some learners were assisted by lifeguards and taken ashore to safety but during a headcount shortly after, it was discovered that Malatswa and Kamsi were missing.

After the rest of the learners were escorted to their rooms, teachers searched high and low for the boys. When they came up empty, they went to Durban central police station later that evening to report them missing.

The next morning, Malatswa and Kamsi’s bodies were discovered about 2km north of where they’d gone swimming.