11-Year-Old Boy Kicked Off Bus Walks 8 Hours to Get Home, Details His Ordeal

• Lifalethu Mbasana walked over 20km from Simon’s Town School in Cape Town’s Deep South to Khayelitsha
• He was kicked off the bus at 2:30pm and was finally found and made it home at 9:50pm
• His mother, Siba Mbasana, was relieved that her son was found and okay, but angry at the bus driver and service provider company

KHAYELITSHA, CAPE TOWN—After being removed from the bus that was meant to take him home, an 11-year-old student was forced to find his way home from Simon's Town to Khayelitsha.

On 22 July, Lifalethu and his two other siblings caught the bus to school from Khayelitsha to their school in Simon's Town. Upon returning home that afternoon, the student got on the bus but realised he had lost his ticket. Then, the bus driver told him to get off the bus. His younger siblings had their tickets, so they continued the journey on the bus.

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Boy, 11, details journey from Simon's Town to Khayelitsha

Normally, Lifalethu travels over 70 kilometres by bus to get home from school every day. He was then left with no other option than to walk home.

He began walking a lengthy 20 kilometres to Strandfontein. From there, he caught a lift to Mandela Park, reported the Daily Maverick. Fortunately, a security guard noticed the boy and went to his rescue. Later, a police officer saw the pair, intervened and took him home. He said:

"I felt scared and alone, but was determined to make it home."

News24 reported that the boy added that he was still tired the next day and said his legs were wobbly and his body was sore. Lifalethu told the journalist:

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"I feel angry that the driver did not want me to get onto the bus."

It took the boy eight hours to return to his home in Harare section, Khayelitsha. Golden Arrow Bus Services has confirmed that the driver who kicked the boy off the bus has been suspended.

Missing KZN 5-year-old got on the incorrect taxi

In a similar story, Briefly News reported that a primary school learner from KwaZulu-Natal went missing for a day and was found the next day. The young boy reportedly got on the wrong transport but eventually ended up at school.

South Africans discussed the safety of young children using public transport.

“Drivers need to confirm who and how many children should be in a transport,” remarked one concerned citizen.

Source: Briefly News