Durban - The families of nine uMlazi commuters who were killed in a horrific accident on the R617 in Mpophomeni near Pietermaritzburg on Sunday, remembered their loved ones at a memorial service yesterday.
The service was led by KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport Peggy Nkonyeni.
Twelve people perished in this accident. Nine were friends and neighbours travelling home to uMlazi in a minibus taxi from an event in Impendle, two were security officers who were responding to an accident scene along with a police officer.
According to reports, there had been an incident where one of the passengers had jumped out of the taxi and was killed. The officers and security guards had been responding to this scene when a bakkie, allegedly being driven at high speed, crashed into the taxi and other vehicles.
The KZN Department of Transport said the bakkie driver faced 12 charges of culpable homicide, along with charges of reckless and negligent driving and driving under the influence of alcohol.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Nqobile Gwala confirmed that the 49-year-old suspect had appeared before the Howick Magistrate’s Court on July 18.
The memorial service was Nkonyeni’s first public appearance since her car accident in June in Ulundi. She said she was grateful that she survived the accident and had fully recovered.
“The doctors booked me off for four weeks, and I thank MEC Jomo Sibiya for holding the fort in my absence and responding swiftly when the news of this accident broke.”
She said she sympathised with the families as she herself knows the pain of losing a loved one. Nkonyeni said she lost her son in an accident years ago, and the pain of losing a child was incomparable.
However, she encouraged the families to not lose hope.
There were only two survivors of the horrific crash, Njabulo Hlongwa and Xolani Mzobe.
Hlongwa said he couldn’t bring himself to attend the memorial service, adding that he didn’t have the courage to face all those people who were looking to him for answers.
“The pain I feel is too much to explain. I can’t transfer my pain to anyone. I feel alone without my neighbours and brothers.”
Hlongwa said that he and the deceased were like family, and he missed being able to shout from his yard and greet them.
This past weekend, more than 24 lives were lost in separate accidents on the provincial roads, including Deputy Minister of Transport Sindisiwe Chikunga’s son, his wife and their four children. They died in a crash on the N11 outside Ladysmith.
There were more fatal crashes this week. An accident on Wednesday night in Nquthu claimed the lives of 10 people on the P291 between Babanango and Nquthu.
“Reports suggest that a fully laden minibus taxi travelling from Nquthu towards Babanango collided head-on with a light motor vehicle. The taxi caught fire, with the passengers trapped inside. Seven people were declared dead at the scene, while 11 others sustained serious injuries. Three others were confirmed dead this morning,” said KZN Department of Transport spokesperson Kwanele Ncalane.
Reacting to this alarming spate of fatal accidents, Nkonyeni said this was a moment to pause and reflect on what we as society could do to make road safety our collective responsibility.
“We need to pause and introspect as a province, and as people. We are once again appealing to the conscience of all road users to always obey the traffic laws. The police must act decisively against those found to be on the wrong side of the law,” said Nkonyeni.