Home Affairs official, Bushy Sekhu, who was wounded over the weekend when a marquee collapsed after a funeral of seven schoolchildren in Bulwer, KwaZulu-Natal on Saturday, 25 August 2012 displayed an act of bravery.
Bushy, a communication officer based at the Headquarters of the Department of Home Affairs in Pretoria, was in Bulwer as part of a communication team deployed to provide communication and media support to Minister of Home Affairs, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma during the funeral of the seven school children.
At the end of the funeral service and when the majority of mourners had left the marquee, about six people including two children remained in the marquee for refreshments. It is at that moment that the marquee collapsed on those who remained inside.
When Bushy Sekhu, who was just outside the marquee realised that the marquee was about to collapse on the two little children, he quickly moved to shield them from the force of the collapse of the marquee. Having saved the two children from injury, unfortunately, the very main pole of the marquee collapsed on his person thus leading him to lose consciousness.
He was then rushed to the local clinic, then transferred to the Pietermaritzburg hospital before being airlifted to the Chief Albert Luthuli Hospital in Durban where he was admitted to the ICU section.
The Department of Home Affairs salutes Bushy Sekhu for putting his life at a great risk to save the lives of others, this selfless act constitute acts of bravery, courage and valour and express the hope that, his will be emulated by countless others around the country.
We take this opportunity to extend our thoughts and prayers to Bushy Sekhu as he recuperates at the Chief Albert Luthuli hospital, while wishing him a speedy recovery.
