“Nothing can replace my daughters. The only blessing is my one remaining daughter, who was not on the same bus because she goes to a different school. For her sake, I must find the strength to move forward but each day has been difficult.”
These are the words of grieving mother Phindile Sibanyoni, who lost two of her young children Snenhlanhla, 18, and Nomfundo, 17, in a collision between a school bus and a train in Mpumalanga this week.
“God’s will is difficult to accept. I’m unable to sleep for a long period, and each time I wake up, I’m confronted with the sad reality of what took place on that terrible Wednesday,” Sibanyoni said, her voice breaking under the weight of her grief.
The accident occurred on the serene stretch of the R104 Road near Mafube village near Arnot outside Middelburg.
Five pupils were killed when the school bus they were travelling in collided with a train at a level crossing near Mafube village. One pupil later died in hospital. Eleven pupils, the bus driver and train operator sustained slight injuries.
It is alleged the driver of the bus, which carried 30 children, crossed the railway line when the train was too close.
The horrific crash has brought back bitter memories for Nomthandazo Ntozakhe, the aunt of nine-year-old Khothatso Sesing, who died in an accident that claimed the lives of 11 pupils last month.
On Friday nine pupils, four from Rockland and five from Blyvooruitzicht west of Johannesburg were injured when a motorist allegedly skipped a red robot and collided with the minibus, causing it to hit a tree.
The accident happened just three weeks after 11 pupils and the driver of the minibus that was transporting them to school died when a bakkie allegedly hit the vehicle from behind, causing it to overturn and then catch fire.
Of the deceased pupils, 10 pupils were from Rockland and one from Blyvooruitzicht.
Ntozakhe, the aunt of one of the pupils, nine-year-old Khothatso Sesing who died in the tragedy, said the accident brought back a lot of trauma for her and her family.
She said she was alerted to the accident by a family member who saw a post about it on social media. “I read about it on Facebook. It brings back what happened to our child,” she said.
The Sesing and Ntozakhe families are far from beginning to heal as they await the results of DNA tests, as are the other families, before the bodies of their loved ones are released for burial. “It is a difficult period of waiting each day hoping that a call comes that our child will be released to us so that we can have a burial and have some
closure,” she said.
Mpumalanga Community Safety, Security and Liaison MEC Jackie Macie said scholar transport and public transport owners had to screen drivers before hiring them to ensure they can be trusted to transport people.
“They must also regularly educate them, test and train them to avoid these kinds of incidents,” he said.
