Nearly a year after his eight-year-old twins fell into an open lift shaft at the HOMii Lifestyle residential apartment building in Durban, father Khaya Dlamini is calling on eThekwini Municipality to release its investigation report.
Dlamini’s twins, Aphelele and Aphile, fell into the open shaft at the Durban CBD building on October 18, 2025. Aphelele died at the scene, while Aphile suffered critical injuries that left her paralysed.
Dlamini said eThekwini Municipality, SAPS and the Department of Labour were tasked with conducting independent investigations into the incident.
He said the Department of Labour had told the family that its investigation was still under way, while SAPS had indicated that progress had been made.
However, Dlamini said the municipality had been holding onto its report for almost four months.
“The municipality is holding a report we have been waiting for for almost four months. When we enquire, we are given the runaround,” he told The Post.
Dlamini said he believed the report should have been released around May or June.
“We need transparency. We believe that the case is being covered up. It is clear that someone’s interest is being protected,” he said.
Dlamini said he left his job as an IT manager following the incident so that he could provide his daughter with parental care. He also claimed that he received death threats linked to the investigation and calls to drop the criminal case.
He said HOMii had neither compensated the family nor reached out to them.
Despite the challenges following the incident, Dlamini said Aphile was making progress with her rehabilitation.
“She is a strong child, and a fighter. She will be turning nine at the end of October,” he said.
Dlamini said Aphile was also trying to adapt to life without her twin brother, whom he described as her best friend.
“It will take some time for her to accept what has happened,” he said.
Dlamini is also writing a book titled Echoes in the Lift Shaft, which he described as a tell-all account of the accident and its aftermath, including what he said were alleged discoveries of corruption.
HOMii was launched in 2017 as a tech-based residential and lifestyle development solution for Durban residents.
eThekwini Municipality had not responded to requests for comment at the time of publication.
IOL
