Africa-Press – South-Africa. A month after 3-year-old Neyamiah died after a viral infection caused her to have difficulty breathing, her parents, Sunera James and Curwyn Eaton, are contemplating legal action against power utility City Power.
Miah, as she was affectionately known, made headlines after it was revealed that the backup oxygen cylinder used to help her breathe ran low on oxygen due to unplanned power outages.
“We had a routine set every day with her. That has just abruptly come to an end,” James told News24.
“There’s an overwhelming feeling of not knowing what to do now that Neyamiah is gone forever.
The Joburg parents said they were considering legal action after Build One South Africa (BOSA) leader Mmusi Maimane opened a case with police.
Maimane said he would meet the family during the week and follow up with the police regarding the investigation.
He confirmed a case was registered at the Cape Town Central police station last month.
Western Cape police spokesperson Sergeant Wesley Twigg also confirmed the matter was reported and referred to Honeydew police for further investigation.
Gauteng police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Mavela Masondo said: “An inquiry docket was opened in Cape Town and transferred to Honeydew Police Station in Gauteng, where an investigation is under way.”
The grieving parents said they have been advised to strongly consider the legal route and were looking into possibly suing the power utility for negligence.
“She will never come back to us. But [we believe] the process leading up to her taking her last breath … could have been avoided had we not sat with this ridiculous electricity problem,” said Eaton.
City Power, which supplies the Randburg area where the family lives, said they had offered their condolences.
Spokesperson Isaac Mangena said the death of any child or person was “devastating”.
“We have expressed our condolences to the family… [Neyamiah’s death has been] difficult for us as well,” Mangena said. However, the parents disputed that City Power had contacted them.
They said they saw City Power representatives give television interviews shortly after Neyamiah’s death, expressing their condolences but they were never contacted.
The parents said:
Neyamiah’s mom said: “No one has picked up the phone to call [us].”
The family’s struggles with electricity also affected Neyamiah’s funeral. “There was prolonged load shedding on the day of the funeral. [The load shedding] lasted for two days.
“Trying to say our final farewell to my child during power cuts was the most difficult and painful thing I have ever had to do as a mother,” James said.
According to James, BOSA has indicated that lawyers would be provided to them if they decide to take the legal route. “As a mother, how do I deal with my child’s death under these circumstances?” she asked.
For Eaton, the pain of losing a child has been unbearable.
“We used to take turns in seeing to her needs, that her breathing equipment was working, now everything just stopped. I don’t wish this pain on any parent,” the emotional father said.
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