Pongola - A sombre mood prevailed at the Waterbus sports ground in Pongola on Saturday as hundreds of mourners gathered for the mass funeral of the schoolchildren who died last week.
Twenty people, 18 of whom were aged between 5 and 14, were killed when a tipper truck crashed into a bakkie packed with schoolchildren that was parked on the side of the N2. The mass funeral was for 14 of those who died.
Tinny Simelane, whose 5-year-old daughter Thingo was among the victims, said she still could not believe that her daughter was dead. Simelane, who worked in Johannesburg, said her brother had told her that she needed to return to Pongola. “My brother did not say a word about Thingo.
I only realised when I got home that my daughter had been killed in the accident. I’m still struggling to come to terms with the fact that she is gone,” said Simelane. Sphephelo Nkonyeni, 19, the driver of the bakkie and his brothers Mduduzi, 14, and Sgcino, 6, also perished.
Their uncle, Bheki Nkonyeni, called on the Department of Transport to enforce stricter measures on the highway. “It is quite unfortunate that it is only when accidents like this one occur that the government will intervene.” He described the brothers’ relationship as inseparable: “They loved one another, especially the little one.
He was just the light of the family.” Nkonyeni said his brother, Mzolo, the father of the three, had bought the bakkie to assist local schoolchildren to travel to and back from school.
Other victims included Syanda Mlangeni, 12, Syamthanda Dlamini, 9, Lwandile Mpilonhle Nkonde, 6, Sandiswa Nkosi, 8, Siphesihle Simelane, 7, Junior Thikazi, 5, Asanda Mhlongo, 13, Alwande Simelane, 9, Bandile Nyawo, 10, and Mpilenhle Makhangeza, 6. The day before, three others were buried.
They were 5-year-old twins Minenhle and Nothando and their brother, Thembelihle Ntshangase, 11. Their grandfather, Nango Ntshangase, said he was worried about their mother and how she would cope with the loss of all her children.
“We are just left with a huge void as a family. But my main concern is their mother who will be left with a huge gap in her life.” Zinhle Mkhize, 28, a student teacher at Buhlebuzile Primary, who had been sitting next to the driver of the bakkie, and her two children, Kusaselihle Goba, 7, and Kusokuhle, 4, will be buried today in Manguzi, near Maputo.
Nompumelelo Nkosi, principal of the school, said Mkhize had just started her in-service training on August 29. “In just less than a month she showed compassion and love towards her work.
We were so shocked to have received the news, even more so because she was pregnant,” she said. Waswa Godfrey, principal of Victorious Independent School, which most of the deceased attended, said they were in mourning.
“I can’t describe the heartbreak when I got to the scene and had to look out and count the familiar faces I knew. Out of the 20 deaths that were counted, the school shared 50% of the loss,” he said.
Godfrey said transportation for pupils had been a concern for years. “In 2017, I tried to raise my concern regarding school transportation with the local taxi association and the parents. However, the feedback I received was that bakkies were cheaper compared to taxis. It became difficult for us to come to an immediate resolution.”
Cathy de Beer, principal of Sakhamuzi Primary School which lost two of its pupils, said the school transport was a frustrating issue: “There is little we can do since we only have a contract with the parents and not their mode of transport. This is caused by financial constraints because these parents need to take their children to school and they look for a cheaper option.”
Other schools that lost pupils were Ziqalele Primary, Thembokuhle Primary, and Siyathemba Primary.
Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula, Police Minister Bheki Cele, KwaZuluNatal Transport MEC Sipho Hlomuka, and Zululand District mayor Thulasizwe Buthelezi were at the funeral to lend support to the grieving families.
Buthelezi said trucks carrying coal during the day on the Piet Retief-Pongola N2 stretch should be banned.
“The truck issue needs serious intervention before more lives are lost,” he said. Mbalula said his department had set aside R2.5 billion to widen the N2 highway. He said trucks for coal would have to move to rail as soon as possible.
SUNDAY TRIBUNE