Eight victims of tragic Hoedspruit accident laid to rest in Bushbuckridge

Eight of the victims, who died in a gruesome accident on the R40 in Hoedspruit two months ago, were laid to rest during a mass funeral on April 20. The funeral service was held at Dynamos Sports Ground in Acornhoek.

Yvonne Mashego (29), Cornelia Sekome (50), Misis Kgatlego Makine (12), Gift Kamogelo Mathebula (46), Lindisi Vivian Mathebula (43), Shadrack Monkie Makine (55), Mercy Julia Dilebo (53) and Loveness Nukeri (21) were among the 14 people who died when a minibus collided head-on with a bakkie.

Ten of the 13 victims in the taxi were residents of Acornhoek. All 13 were burnt beyond recognition when the vehicle caught fire on impact. One of bakkie’s occupants died later in the hospital while receiving treatment.

Most of the people who lost their lives in the crash were employees of a supermarket in Hoedspruit and were going to work at the time of the accident. Moreover, the majority of the victims were the breadwinners in their families.

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The process of conducting DNA testing on eight of the 10 victims from Acornhoek has been completed, while the results for the remaining two are still outstanding.

The premier, Mandla Ndlovu, was one of many speakers at the funeral. He expressed his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families. He acknowledged the distress that the long wait for the DNA results has caused the families.

“These tests had to be done repeatedly until we were satisfied that the victims were accurately identified,” he said.

Many accidents are attributed to non-adherence to traffic laws. Ndlovu urged all road users to observe regulations to reduce the carnage.

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He added that the Mpumalanga and Limpopo provincial governments will engage on issues of common interest in the future, to address challenges of communities that reside on the borderline of the provinces.

“The co-operation of both provincial governments during this tragic accident and while preparing for the funeral was phenomenal, reminding us of the need to establish interprovincial government relations. I will engage the Limpopo premier, Dr Phophi Ramathuba, for the establishment of both a technical and a political committee to deal with boundary issues, including road safety,” he said.

The MEC for community safety, security and liaison, Jackie Macie, and Contralesa’s president, Kgosi Lameck Mokoena, were also in attendance.

Many speakers who took to the podium thanked the government for the support that was given to the families of the victims since the tragedy occurred.