SHOCKING: Dad reveals meagre pay off over dead son

Linda Soko Tembo writes          

A Lusaka parent says he is unhappy with the K25, 000 paid to him by City of Lusaka Football Club (2000 PLC) for the death of his 14 year-old son, James Sikota.

James died in January 2016 when part of the Woodlands Stadium wall fell on him as he tried to shelter from the rains.  

Mr Kennedy Sikota, of Lusaka’s Kalingalinga Township, said the amount he was paid was insufficient for his loss and fell far short of the K200, 000 he initially demanded.

He said his wish was to be compensated an amount of money which would enable him invest into a tangible item, like a piece of land or house, as a way of remembering his son.

Mr Sikota observed that he had big dreams for his son, as a parent, because the boy was intelligent and loved soccer.

“I had hoped that he would grow up, succeed and take care of me. But all those dreams have been cut shot,” he said.

Mr Sikota also complained that he did not understand why his legal team, the Legal Aid Board, excluded him during discussions with City of Lusaka when he was the complainant.

He said, “It made me feel like my legal team was in fact under representing me and doing things behind my back.”

Mr Sikota spoke out about his ordeal in the wake of another accident at the same stadium last week on Friday in which a construction worker died and two others were seriously injured after a wall collapsed during demolition.

The following is an excerpt of the interview with Mr Sikota.

THE SUN: What are your name?

MR SIKOTA: My names are Kennedy Sikota. I am a casual worker at Woodlands Stadium.

My late son James Sikota used to live with my in-laws in Chilenje but would usually visit me in Kalingalinga whenever he closed school.

THE SUN: Tell us about what happened?

MR SIKOTA: My son, James, was 14 years old when he died. He sat for his grade seven exams in 2015 and had just passed to go to grade eight in 2016. I was busy preparing for him to start secondary school when the most unfortunate thing happened.

On January 8, 2016. James would usually go to play football at Woodlands Stadium with his friends where City of Lusaka Football Club used to run a soccer academy for children.

What happened is that, on the fateful day, my son had gone to play soccer with his friend at the stadium, but while there, it started raining heavily and my son and his friends tried to seek shelter along the stadium wall fence.

I received a phone call from the police that my son had died after the wall fell on him. I rushed to Woodlands Stadium but found that the police had already collected the body. I was later taken to identify his body at UTH.

President Lungu visited the funeral house and the Disaster Management Mitigation Unit (DMMU) provided the funeral expenses.

I visited the Woodlands Police Station after the funeral but was advised to go to court. I went to the Magistrate Court but I was advised to involve the Legal Aid Board as the case was a big one.

I went to Legal Aid and paid everything I needed to pay for at the time. I was issued with receipts and given a letter to claim for compensation from City of Lusaka Football over my son’s death.

In my letter of claim to City of Lusaka Football Club, I demanded to be compensated K200.000 for the loss of my son’s life because of their negligence in maintaining the wall fence at the stadium.  

The matter did not go to court but was discussed and resolved in the chambers.  The Legal Aid deputy Director later advised me that the amount I was demanding was very high since my son was still young at the time of his death unlike when someone is older and a bread winner. I was therefore offered K15, 000 but I refused it.

After some waiting, I was on March 21, 2018 given a letter stating that I would be given K25, 000 as compensation. I tried to refuse but the Legal Aid deputy director advised that I just get the money to avoid being the losing end.

That is how I got the money. I paid K2, 500 to Legal Aid and was left with K22, 500.

I was very unhappy with the amount I was given because my son was worth more than K25, 000, and could have done a lot for me had he lived.

And Betty Sikota, James’s stepmother, has appealed to government to help secure justice for the vulnerable people.