AN old age home in Jericho, North West is heartbroken by the deaths of two of its former residents.
And this as they were coming to terms with the death of another resident, madala Motsepe Thema (80) who died on 30 May.
Madala Motsepe was allegedly assaulted by madalas Daniel Madumo (92) and Jeremiah Mmatli (75) with crutches at the old age home and was rushed to hospital, where he was certified dead on arrival.
Madalas Daniel and Jeremiah were arrested, but they died in custody. Daniel died on Monday, 24 June, while Jeremiah passed away on Thursday, 20 June.
Ipeleng Bagodi Old Age Home manager Dipuo Sekhu said they’re still in great shock and the other elderly people in the home have received counselling.
“I feel so sad. It’s shock to lose elderly people who left our institution in a healthy condition,” she said.
She said it came as a shock when the Mmatli family reported that Jeremiah had died and more so when she received news that Daniel had also passed away.
“The three elderly men all lived at the centre and were not mentally ill. Motsepe and Jeremiah were short-sighted. Their deaths shocked us,” she said.
Sekhu said they considered the madalas as part of their family. She told Daily Sun that Motsepe had lived with them for more than 10 years, Daniel since September 2023, while Jeremiah had lived with them since February 2024.
“We lived with them as if they were our children. We loved them and accepted them as family members,” said Sekhu.
She said the madalas loved talking, exchanging ideas and were just nice. But she said Thema didn’t like talking a lot.
She said:
“Madumo was very old and the centre gave them exercises and they loved listening to the radio. They also liked eating meat, especially beef and chicken and always asked for more. This is the first time we lost the elderly in such a way.”
She said that their old age home is passionate about taking care of the elderly. “We don’t know what really got into the men who killed Thema,” said Sekhu.
Daily Sun contacted the Madumo and Mmatli families, but the Mmatli family refused to talk about their loved one’s death. On the other hand, the Madumo family said they are heartbroken by losing the madala.
Correctional services spokesman Singabakho Nxumalo confirmed Daniel and Jeremiah’s deaths, who were both admitted to Kgosi Mampuru II Correctional Centre on 3 June. Daily Sun.
