“I cannot find words to describe what this loss means to us. We are experiencing the worst trauma.”

These are the words of the family spokesperson whose nine relatives were lost in a vehicle collision along the N1 on November 11. The victims were buried in Thakalang in Limpopo last Saturday.

In the late evening of November 11, they were travelling from Gauteng to attend a wedding ceremony in Thakgalang, when their minivan lost control after a tyre burst and collided head-on with a truck that was moving in the opposite direction.

Much to their disappointment, the Sethe and Maduna family postponed their wedding celebration indefinitely to focus on the losses of Phineas Sethe (41), Maria Sethe (37) with her three daughters Thandi (16), Mmaletsau (7) and Lethabo (0); Mapula Sethe (23) with her daughter, Nicole (3); Lefa Makondo (7) and Sicelo Semelane (15), the engaged couple’s daughter.

Provincial Government and the local traditional authority have offered support since the ordeal, with Social Development having dispatched help.

Polokwane Mayor John Mpe visited the family home a day before their memorial service held on November 17.