The Limpopo creative arts community has been left reeling following the tragic death of popular 25-year-old content creator Unawanga Muravha of Shayandima, who died in a horrific road accident on the N1 near Mokopane on Friday, 3 July.
Muravha, who had built a strong social media following through entertaining car-wash content created alongside fellow content creator Princess Raphalalani, was among four people who died while travelling to Gauteng in the early hours of Friday morning.
According to Limpopo Department of Transport and Community Safety spokesperson Mashudu Mabata, the crash occurred shortly before 06:00 on the N1 northbound between the Sasol garage and the Zebediela Weighbridge near Mokopane. The collision involved a Volkswagen Polo and a Scania truck. All four occupants of the Polo – one woman and three men – were declared dead at the scene.
Mabata said preliminary information suggests that driver fatigue may have contributed to the crash, although the exact cause remains under investigation.
“We are still waiting for the official report … As a family, we are devastated. We are still in denial that she is gone. We feel like she will call or simply come back,” said Unawanga's brother, Mpho Muravha.
According to Mpho, Muravha and her friends had spent the evening at a liquor outlet in Tshisahulu before making an unplanned decision to travel to Gauteng.
“It is fortunate that some of their friends decided not to go. Otherwise, we would have been talking about an even bigger catastrophe,” he said.
Mpho described his sister as a determined young woman who had recently completed her N6 Engineering qualification at Vhembe TVET College's Shingwedzi Campus. Besides focusing on her studies, she earned extra income over weekends through promotional work and by creating content while washing cars with friends.
Muravha's funeral arrangements are expected to be finalised after her body has been formally identified at the government mortuary.
Close friend Tshianeo Dzhombe said Muravha's death was a huge loss to both her family and Limpopo's growing creative industry.
“To me she was like a younger sister who looked up to me as a role model. Although we were often busy with work and college, we spoke almost every day on the phone,” she said.
An emotional Princess Raphalalani said Muravha had spoken about death only weeks before the accident.
“In May she posted on Facebook about her own funeral, even saying I should be one of her pallbearers and giving instructions on how it should be conducted. I am still in shock and still trying to understand what happened,” she said.