A dark cloud is hanging over the Nkambule family home following the deaths of their two children in a horrific accident involving an overloaded and unroadworthy minibus taxi.
At least five other children from the Mpumalanga family are still in hospital, with their grandfather Vincent Nkambule telling Sowetan that three of them are in a critical condition.
A distraught Nkambule said they had not informed the injured children that their relatives died in the accident.
The children were among 19 pupils travelling in the taxi along the D267 between Dundonald and Mayflower, near the Eswatini border, when tragedy struck at about 3pm on Wednesday.
The pupils were travelling home after school from different schools when the accident happened. A total of nine children died when the taxi veered off the bridge and plunged into the Mpuluzi River.
Authorities said the cause of the crash was being investigated but there was no other car involved in the accident.
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The deceased have been identified as Bongani Brilliant Vilakazi, 7, Mpilo Prince Ntumbe, 9, Siphesihle Nhleko, 11, Charmaine Bonakele Sibiya, 13, Lungile Lubisi, 8, Abenathi Nhlabathi, 5, Nothando Magagula, Lindokuhle Angel Nkosi, 6, and Nombuso Rethabile Radebe, 8.
“It's very sad and hard for us. We had seven children in that car and two died on the spot and five are in hospital. The situation is bad because we don't know if they will survive or not. We are all sad and no-one is speaking to the other because the pain is too much,” said Nkambule.
Nombuso's body was only discovered yesterday, just a few metres from the crash scene.
“It is believed that the body fell into the river upon impact and it was trapped between rocks. The body was discovered following a search operation that was conducted by the police working closely with the community and other stakeholders,” said department of community safety, security and liaison spokesperson Moeti Mmusi.
Nombuso's weeping relative who answered a cellphone when Sowetan called, could only say: “Yooh, I can't speak boet (brother). It's hard.”
The children attended school at Tisiteni, Sitanani and Wesley primary schools.
MEC for community safety, security and liaison Vusi Shongwe said they would leave no stone unturned to ensure that the driver is prosecuted.
“I have not seen this before... children dying like this from an unroadworthy car which has a licence disk that has expired. The car was overloaded, which is a crime. If all goes well, we might charge him with murder, but we are assessing legal issues. He also doesn't have a driver's licence. It's a mess,” said Shongwe.
Mmusi said the driver is expected to appear in the Elukwatini magistrate's court today and has been charged with nine counts of culpable homicide, failure to produce an operating licence, overloading and operating a vehicle that is not roadworthy, among others.
A delegation from the department of education and social development visited the affected families to facilitate psychosocial support to affected learners and educators.
“A task team will be set up to work with the bereaved families in finalising funeral arrangements,” said Mmusi.
Education MEC Bonakele Majuba said: “These are sad and shattering news of the loss of young lives who had a promising future. The department sends sincere condolences to the bereaved families and wishes them all the strength they can muster in this time of need.”
