The mother of 10-year-old learner Mosses Kganyago is demanding answers from a Limpopo school about the circumstances that led to her son’s death after he allegedly swallowed a pen lid while in class.
According to reports, the Grade 4 learner at Moriting Primary School in Mankweng circuit under Capricorn district fainted and struggled to breathe after accidentally swallowing a pen’s lid on Monday, 14 April 2025.
It is said the pupil was taken to Mankweng Hospital by a teacher’s car, where he was certified dead, but the mother claims he died at school, where his body was carried by a security guard to the car.
The grieving mother, Annah Kganyago (28), is accusing the school of negligence and questioning her son’s cause of death.
“Am not satisfied with the school’s conduct around the circumstances that led to the sudden death of my son. We are told that on the day of the incident after Mosses swallowed the lid and struggled to breath , the teacher sent the child outside to get fresh air, while she was busy with her phone in class.
“The careless teacher only went outside after my child collapsed and was made aware of the incident by a colleague, if the teacher could have attended him urgently, he wouldn’t have died,” the mother said.
The grieving mother said she doesn’t believe her child died from swallowing the pen’s lid and claims the school is hiding the true nature of her son’s death.
“when I arrived at the hospital I was given the pen’s lid that supposedly killed my son by the doctor and there is no way a person can die from swallowing that tiny lid.
“We are waiting for the post-mortem results to reveal the true nature of Moses’s death, and am prepared to exhume his body and get a private pathologist to find the truth,” Kganyago said.
The mother said she’s planning to sue the department for negligence.
The Limpopo-based non-profit organisation Conty Lebepe Foundation has written to the Limpopo provincial MEC of Education, Mavhungu-Lerule Ramakhanya, to investigate the circumstances surrounding Mosses Kganyago’s death.
“As the Non Profit Organization, we are writing to express our deepest concern and sadness regarding the tragic death of 10-year-old Moses Kganyago, a learner at Moriting Primary School at Mankweng Circuit.
The circumstances surrounding his passing have raised serious questions that require immediate attention and resolution.
“The family is seeking answers about the school’s response to the incident, particularly regarding the timeliness of medical attention and the handling of the situation. We have several concerns that we would like the department to investigate and address:
- Why wasn’t the ambulance called immediately to assist Moses when he cried out for help?
- Why was the boy buried without the results of a post-mortem examination, which the police have indicated will take weeks to complete?
The family reportedly felt pressured to bury the child without a clear explanation, “ the foundation chairperson, Tlou Moabelo, said in a letter directed to the Limpopo MEC.
Limpopo Education Director of Communication Mike Maringa said school staff and medical practitioners did everything in their power to save him, but they could not.
Maringa said they provided the family with necessary support, including psychological support.
