Enoch Mpianzi: Body of Parktown Boys High School pupil has been found

The body of 13-year-old Enoch Mpianzi, a pupil from Parkbtown Boys High School, has been found, Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi confirmed.

BREAKING #ParktownBoysCamp The body of the missing learner has been found by the police. The family of Enoch Mpianza was fully briefed and we are all devastated by this tragic accident. Our thoughts are with the family and the school community.

— Panyaza Lesufi (@Lesufi) January 17, 2020

What happened to Enoch Mpianzi?

Rescue teams have been on the search for Enoch Mpianzi since he went missing on Wednesday afternoon. The 13-year-old was part of a Grade 8 orientation camp at a lodge near Brits, in the North West.

In a recent Times Live report, Colonel Adele Myburgh revealed that Enoch Mpianzi was last seen alive at around 15:00, on Wednesday. He was on a self-made raft along with 12 other pupils before it capsized on the Crocodile River due to strong currents.

After noticing that the 13-year-old was missing, local law enforcement and rescue teams were called and the search had continued for two days.

Likely cause of death

The grim discovery of his body was made on Friday morning. Details surrounding Enoch Mpianzi’s cause of death are still unknown at this time.

Parents enraged by school’s organisation of the camp

Parktown Boys High School has been criticised for the way in which the orientation camp was organised.

According to EWN, parents of the Grade 8 pupils were shocked to find out that their children were not allowed to carry their phones along with them to the camp.

According to a parent who was quoted in the cited publication, they were told that the orientation camp was designed as a way of allowing the Grade 8 pupils to build rapport and learn about the benefits of working together.

However, in tragedies such as these, parents were disturbed that they only found out about Enoch Mpianzi’s disappearance a day later.

“It’s totally not on if they realised yesterday (Thursday) that a kid was missing. It’s traumatic for the kids. We should have been told that so that we could get our kids. I am livid with Parktown [High],” a parent, who found out about the missing pupil on Twitter, said.

The 13-year-old’s body has been handed over to the Forensic Pathology Department for examination to determine what caused his death.

This is a developing story.