Little Samkelo still shaken, says Ntuzuma mum
The mother of an 18-month-old Durban boy who was stuck in a trench alone for three days says her son is not the cheerful child he used to be following the ordeal.
Little Samkelo Cele was found about 200 metres from his father's Ntuzuma home Tuesday morning after disappearing on Saturday afternoon.
His mother Thando Cele has Newswatch the boy is now reserved.
"He's usually a very playful boy - he likes to play with people. Now he has lost weight - he's not himself and is always sleeping," she said.
Dante the German Shepherd has been hailed the hero.
It was the dog and Sergeant Clinton Odayar from the Durban K9 Unit who found the boy.
"Physically or by myself, I would not be able to do this. What led us to the baby was his sense of smell," he said.
"The child went missing at 11 on Saturday, he was playing with other kids when he went missing, I received a call when I was at work, I returned to my home where we began a search for Samkelo. We asked around the community if anyone has seen Samkelo. We also asked the community to look around and reported him missing to the police. We asked the community to help look for Samkelo. We kept looking from Sunday to Monday until police arrived and helped us with the search. The police found Samkelo and they brought him to me. I took him to the clinic," Samkelo's mum, Thando says in the video.
(File photo: Video Screengrab)