A family’s heartache: Drowning victim’s body found
The father of six-year-old Jayden Isaks - who drowned in the Grysblok sewage dam in Windhoek on Sunday afternoon - sobbed bitterly when the boy’s lifeless body was found yesterday.
Shauwen Isaks (27) said he last saw his son a month ago.
Just a metre away, Jayden’s mother Chantel Mentoor (28) felt her legs buckle when a diver lifted the boy’s body out of the water.
According to the family, on Sunday after lunch, Jayden told his mother that he was going to play with some friends down the road.
The sewage dam is just a few metres from Mentoor's sister's house where she went to pick up school shoes for her son, who was supposed to start grade one in just a few months.
"On Sunday afternoon after lunch, Chantel went to our other sister's house to get school supplies for Jayden because he had to start school next year.
“Between 14:00 and 15:00, the other children came running home, saying Jayden had fallen in the water and they can't find him. By the time we got to the scene, there were four policemen and some onlookers," the boy’s godmother and aunt said.
‘Full of s***’
The family narrated that when a private diver eventually arrived, he said the water was "full of s***" and refused to enter it.
At nightfall around 19:00, the search party "gave up hope" and told the family to go home because there was nothing else they could do.
However, according to bystanders, some of the relatives - including Jayden’s father - wanted to dive in in search of the child. He was stopped and they eventually went home.
Another family member said the boy's mother was so traumatised, they had to give her sedatives and pain medication to help her sleep on Sunday night.
‘Golden child’
Shauwen, who does not live with Mentoor and his son, said he regrets not fighting harder to see the boy.
According to him, he had not seen Jayden in more than a month and wanted to spend time with him over the weekend.
"I drove back from the farm on Saturday morning and called Jayden's mother to ask if I could have him over the weekend because I picked my other children up as well.
“His mother and I had some quarrels, so I dropped it. I had no idea that that was the only opportunity I would have to see him one last time.
"Jayden was my golden child. Although he is the middle child of my three children, I had a special bond with him,” he said, choking back tears.
“This is life, and loss is something that I forced myself to get used to.”
Community heroes
The 27-year-old said he regrets not being there for his son, and added that the Grysblok community members are his “heroes”.
"I watched as the state stood back and did nothing. The only heroes in my eyes are the men in this community. Two of them dived in that sh***y water under a cellphone's flashlight to look for my son.
“Because of my quarrels with his mother, I could not be in his life as much as I wanted, and that I regret," he said.
Windhoek mayor Sade Gawanas stood with the family as they prayed and cried.
She admitted that the area was dangerous and said the City will do its part to avoid another such tragic event.
"We want the City of Windhoek to build a fence around this sewage dam to avoid something like this ever happening again," Jayden’s aunt said.
Shauwen Isaks (27) said he last saw his son a month ago.
Just a metre away, Jayden’s mother Chantel Mentoor (28) felt her legs buckle when a diver lifted the boy’s body out of the water.
According to the family, on Sunday after lunch, Jayden told his mother that he was going to play with some friends down the road.
The sewage dam is just a few metres from Mentoor's sister's house where she went to pick up school shoes for her son, who was supposed to start grade one in just a few months.
"On Sunday afternoon after lunch, Chantel went to our other sister's house to get school supplies for Jayden because he had to start school next year.
“Between 14:00 and 15:00, the other children came running home, saying Jayden had fallen in the water and they can't find him. By the time we got to the scene, there were four policemen and some onlookers," the boy’s godmother and aunt said.
‘Full of s***’
The family narrated that when a private diver eventually arrived, he said the water was "full of s***" and refused to enter it.
At nightfall around 19:00, the search party "gave up hope" and told the family to go home because there was nothing else they could do.
However, according to bystanders, some of the relatives - including Jayden’s father - wanted to dive in in search of the child. He was stopped and they eventually went home.
Another family member said the boy's mother was so traumatised, they had to give her sedatives and pain medication to help her sleep on Sunday night.
‘Golden child’
Shauwen, who does not live with Mentoor and his son, said he regrets not fighting harder to see the boy.
According to him, he had not seen Jayden in more than a month and wanted to spend time with him over the weekend.
"I drove back from the farm on Saturday morning and called Jayden's mother to ask if I could have him over the weekend because I picked my other children up as well.
“His mother and I had some quarrels, so I dropped it. I had no idea that that was the only opportunity I would have to see him one last time.
"Jayden was my golden child. Although he is the middle child of my three children, I had a special bond with him,” he said, choking back tears.
“This is life, and loss is something that I forced myself to get used to.”
Community heroes
The 27-year-old said he regrets not being there for his son, and added that the Grysblok community members are his “heroes”.
"I watched as the state stood back and did nothing. The only heroes in my eyes are the men in this community. Two of them dived in that sh***y water under a cellphone's flashlight to look for my son.
“Because of my quarrels with his mother, I could not be in his life as much as I wanted, and that I regret," he said.
Windhoek mayor Sade Gawanas stood with the family as they prayed and cried.
She admitted that the area was dangerous and said the City will do its part to avoid another such tragic event.
"We want the City of Windhoek to build a fence around this sewage dam to avoid something like this ever happening again," Jayden’s aunt said.
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