The Mudau family of Ngovhela village outside Sibasa were dealt a double blow when they lost a father and his daughter in two separate incidents.
First to pass on was the daughter, Ms Monica Mathole (33), who sadly died on 2 August under mysterious circumstances in Diepsloot, Gauteng. The funeral was to take place at Diepsloot Cemetery near Seshego.
The father, Mr Namadzavho Solomon Mudau (70), travelled to Seshego to prepare for the funeral. He arrived on the 6th but developed health complications there. He never lived to bury his daughter as he passed away the following day.
The daughter was buried on Saturday, 13 August, while Namadzavho Mudau was buried at the cemetery at Ngovhela on Sunday, 14 August.
During his funeral held at his home, his first-born child, Mr Maxwell Mudau, could not hide his grief and pain. He said that the death of his only sister had caught him off-guard. "My sister died under mysterious circumstances and I was still trying to come to terms with it. We were still preparing for her funeral and then tragedy struck again. We are in so much pain as a family," he said.
The dead man's sister-in-law, Ms Rainah Mathole, said: "We are in deep mourning and we do not even know what to do. Our hearts are torn apart."