Yet another child is fighting for his life in intensive care due to a preventable accident, with the finger of blame pointing at systemic failures and government inaction. On 26 May 2026, a 14-year-old boy was electrocuted at a community park in Laamu Gan while helping prepare for Eid celebrations. He remains in the ICU at Treetop Hospital after being airlifted to Malé. The tragedy occurred because a faulty Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker (ELCB) failed to trip. Residents had reportedly flagged the dangerous defect more than a year earlier and even purchased a replacement unit themselves, but Fenaka Corporation failed to install it.
This is not an isolated incident. It forms part of a disturbing pattern that raises serious questions about the Muizzu government’s ability to protect its citizens, particularly the most vulnerable.In July 2024, 18-year-old Hussain Atheek from Raa Atoll’s Ungoofaaru died after being electrocuted while trying to save two young children. Fenaka was fined just MVR 50,000 for negligence related to missing safety equipment. Authorities promised urgent nationwide improvements in electrical safety. Yet, more than ten months later, the same issues persist.
The health sector shows similar concerns. In March 2026, six-year-old Ibrahim Azan Suhail, who had spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy, died at Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH). His mother had pleaded for nearly eight months to obtain a simple PEG feeding tube through the Aasandha scheme. The tube reportedly arrived too late. A Health Ministry investigation was only launched after the boy’s death.These are not unavoidable tragedies. They involve known risks that were left unaddressed for months sometimes over a year despite repeated public warnings.
While the government has moved quickly to announce plans restricting social media access for children under 16 to “protect” them online, it has appeared slow and ineffective in addressing real, physical dangers in the islands from unsafe electricity infrastructure to delays in life-saving medical supplies.
State-owned companies like Fenaka continue to operate with limited visible accountability. The company spends over MVR 100 million every month on salaries, a large share of which goes to politically appointed positions that contribute little to operational efficiency. Yet despite this heavy taxpayer funding, Fenaka has failed to fix basic safety hazards that have already claimed young lives and continue to endanger the very people paying for the service. Administrative delays in the health system have also cost young lives. Repeated promises following each tragedy have yet to produce meaningful, systemic change.
Questions for the Administration
- How many more children must suffer before public safety becomes an urgent priority?
- Why are known life-threatening hazards permitted to persist for over a year?
- When will there be genuine accountability, rather than excuses and token fines?
With one child after another paying the price, can we honestly say this administration is capable of fulfilling even the most basic duty of protecting its citizens? How many more preventable tragedies must occur before real change happens or will these failures simply continue while more promises are made?The time for excuses is over. The public is left wondering: how much longer must our children remain at risk?
Article based on the X thread shared by @Maashie on behalf of the affected mother.
