DA Demands Justice After Girl Dies in Pit Toilet

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Maruleng Local Municipality has called for urgent accountability following the tragic death of a five-year-old girl who reportedly fell into an abandoned pit toilet.

According to DA councillor and municipal whip Portia Moropane, the party visited the bereaved family on Wednesday to convey their condolences after the death of Bontle Ramapuputla.

The young girl allegedly fell into an incomplete pit toilet in Hlohlokwe Village on 30 March 2026. The toilet was part of a sanitation project commissioned by Mopani District Municipality during the 2024/2025 financial year.

Moropane said the municipality had appointed a contractor to construct pit toilets in the village, but the contractor allegedly abandoned the project before completion.

“The contractor left building materials at the family’s home and exposed residents to dangerous, unfinished structures,” Moropane said.

She described the incident as a preventable tragedy and accused the municipality and contractor of negligence, saying the death highlights poor project management and the appointment of incompetent contractors.

Moropane also noted that similar incidents have occurred in the district in the past. In 2018, a toddler reportedly fell into an unused borehole in Joppe, while in 2019 a six-year-old boy drowned in a trench at the abandoned Giyani bulk water project.

The DA has announced plans to formally write to the Basikopo Makamu, the MEC for Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs (COGHSTA), requesting an urgent investigation into the incident.

The party said it wants responsible officials to be held criminally accountable and has called for all trenches, pits and unused manholes left during the project to be closed immediately to prevent further tragedies.

“Justice for this horrific and preventable incident is not negotiable. If MEC Makamu does not take immediate action, the DA will,” Moropane added.