Director of IT killed in car crash
The Director of IT Services at the Steve Tshwete Municipality, Mr Noah Chauke, was killed in a car crash near a place called Blomplaas, close to Belfast on the N4 Highway, last Thursday afternoon.
Exact details of what caused the accident are yet to be fully established.
Mr Chauke was returning from a meeting in Nelspruit and was travelling alone when the accident occurred.
Colleagues and staff at the municipality were all shocked and saddened to hear about his death. An eery and uneasy silence hung in the hallways on Monday morning.
Staff members only had good things to say about Mr Chuake – who joined the municipality back in 2004 and relocated to Middelburg from Bushbuckridge.
“He was a friendly, talkative person. Always joking around. He preferred to look at only the positive side of life,” one employee said.
Mr Chauke also worked closely with Advocate Thobela Mekuto, Director of Corporate Services, and acted in her position whenever required.
“He was a committed, hard working employee, a friend and a true gentleman,” said Ms Mekuto.
“I had a lot of confidence in him. He was a proficient worker and the only person I trusted in my position when I was not in office. It’s a great loss to the municipality and he will be sorely missed”.
Ms Mekuto said that the entire municipality wishes to convey their deepest sympathy and condolences to Noah’s family, his wife Emilie Chauke who is a mathematics teacher at Mthombeni Primary School in Mhluzi, and their three sons, Evidence (16), Hlulani (8) and Nsovo (6), as well as the extended Chauke family in Bushbuckridge.
Mr Chauke’s funeral will take place at Tsakane Village at Bushbuckridge on Friday, 4 April. Services will begin at 06:00. For more details regarding the funeral please contact 013 249 7242.
