[Blacks also get into the drug habit. Jan]

Eunice Tshidzumba had packed a suitcase for her 18-year-old son Arthur, relieved he would be entering a drug rehabilitation centre.

Arthur Tshidzumba had told his mother recently that he had a drug problem and had begged her to book him into rehab.

“When I booked him in at the rehab centre, I had hoped that when he came back he would stop taking drugs and start with a clean slate … I even bought him new clothes. But now, all my dreams have been shattered,” said Tshidzumba.

Arthur Tshidzumba, who was due to leave for the Magaliesoord rehabilitation centre at 9am on Monday, was found dead on Sunday morning after one last alcohol- and drug-fuelled binge that also claimed the lives of his friends: 26-year-old Tshepo Nkosi and 19-year-old Mpho Hlatshwayo.

‘All my dreams have been shattered’
The three died after they allegedly took a large quantity of drugs on Saturday night in Protea Glen Extension 3, in Soweto.

Immediately after taking the drugs, Hlatshwayo started vomiting and was rushed to Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival.

Nkosi and Tshidzumba were found dead at the house early on Sunday morning.

Tshidzumba, a Grade 11 pupil at Mlamuli Secondary School in Protea Glen, had left home on Friday to visit his friends, but did not return home that night, or the next.

Eleven young people had gathered at the home of Sifiso Tshabalala for the weekend’s fateful binge. Tshabalala said he woke up early yesterday morning to remind Arthur (Xoli) to go home.

‘They could neither move nor respond’
But when he entered the room he discovered his two friends were dead, said Tshabalala, who has been living in the house with his younger brother since the siblings’ mother died in 2001.

“They could neither move nor respond. I called one of my neighbours. When he arrived he realised they were dead and asked me to report the matter to the police.”

Tshabalala said the group was drinking at his house on Saturday evening when one of them suggested they buy drugs. He said he knew where heroin was sold cheaply.

“Arthur had come to say goodbye because he was supposed to leave (for the rehabilitation centre) on Monday. He said he would be taking drugs for the last time, because when he returned he wouldn’t touch drugs again,” said Tshabalala.

“After they finished smoking they could barely walk. I spoke to Xoli, but he told me he was tired and wanted to rest. Tshepo could not utter a word. But I thought they were going to be fine the next morning.”

Soweto police spokesperson Captain Mbazima Shiburi said the police were called to the house just after 6am on Sunday.

“We found four girls and five boys in the house. Some of them were still drunk. We arrested them and they are still being questioned.”

A neighbour, Bobo Modisane, claimed the group always gathered at Tshabalala’s house to drink.

“We have been complaining about the noise. We tried to advise him, but he did not listen. He said the neighbours were abusing him because his mother was dead.”

Shiburi said two men were arrested for possession of drugs at the house after police found heroin in their pockets, and were expected to appear in court soon.

Postmortem results would determine the cause of the deaths. An inquest docket has been opened.

This article was originally published on page 1 of The Star on February 07, 2005

Source: Independent Online (IOL)
URL: http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click…/p>