Search for mother of boy who fell at nurses’ home

When social workers finally spoke to the boy who fell from the fourth floor of the nurses’ home at Dora Nginza Hospital, he said he knew his grandparents could not visit him in hospital.

Livingstone Hospital social worker Neliswa Siwisa said: “His grandmother is blind and his grandfather is old.”

She and Dora Nginza Hospital social worker Pamela Rubushe interviewed the boy yesterday after he started breathing on his own and was taken off a ventilator.

The badly injured youngster, who social workers initially thought had said his name was Luvuyo Makhala, is in fact Luvuyo Pakana, 14.

Luvuyo fell early on Monday while trying to catch pigeons to eat.

He had been staying with his grandparents while his mother was out of town.

Siwisa said another relative, Nomaxabiso Pakana, had come to visit Luvuyo at noon yesterday and was shocked at the extent of his injuries.

Rubushe said: “His mother’s name is Nomvuyo Pakana.

“He told me she went to Cape Town on Saturday.”

Rubushe said they were urgently looking for Nomvuyo.

She had located Luvuyo’s grandmother, Nomfuneko Pakana, in Zinyoka township.

“Her eyesight is really bad,” Rubushe said.

“She sent someone from the family to visit him in hospital.”

Luvuyo suffered extensive injuries when he fell from the fourth floor balcony at the Dora Nginza Hospital nurses’ home at about 1am.

Rubushe said Luvuyo’s condition was improving and he had had some juice yesterday morning.

“He has bad injuries though. He is going to be in hospital for a long time still,” she said.