A mass funeral was held at the Tshixwadza Sports Grounds on Saturday, 10 September, for five of the 10 people who died in the horror crash near Polokwane on 6 September this year.
Nine members of the Nwendamutswu royal house in Tshixwadza village in Ha-Rammbuda lost their lives in the accident, as well as one of their neighbours. According to a police report, the Toyota Fortuner they were travelling in collided head-on with a truck on the N1 bypass near the Mall of the North in Polokwane. The family members were on their way back to their home village from Gauteng.
The deceased were identified as Mahlatse Aphane, Francina Aphane, Anna Nwendamutswu, Victor Marite, Gordon Nwendamutswu, Doreen Nwendamutswu, Othathile Nwendamutswu, Alina Segatle, Tshedza Phalanndwa and Boikatso Segatle.
Saturday's service at the Tshixwadza Sports Grounds involved the burial of Anna Nwendamutswu (90) (widow of the late traditional leader, Chief Samuel Nwendamutswu), Doreen Nwendamutswu (38), Gordon Nwendamutswu (46), Othathile Nwendamutswu (2), and Tshedza Phalanndwa (29).
The rest of the deceased were buried in Soshanguve (North of Pretoria), Mpumalanga and the Eastern Cape respectively.
The MEC for Transport and Community Safety in Limpopo, Ms Polly Boshielo, who also attended the funeral service in Tshixwadza on Saturday, conveyed her deepest condolences to the families. "I was on my way to the sitting of the Limpopo legislature on the morning of 6 September, when I received a message informing me of the terrible accident next to the Mall of the North in Polokwane. I rushed there and came upon the horrible scene," Boshielo said.
The MEC said that the cause of the accident could not be ascribed to fatigue and/or reckless driving as investigations were still ongoing.
The chairperson of the Nwendamutswu royal council, Dr Lufuno Kone, said the families were still afflicted by their loss. He said they were supposed to install a new chief on Saturday (10 September), but instead they were burying four of their beloved ones.
Thovhele Ratshibvumo II Rammbuda pleaded with the Nwendamutswu royal family to show love for one another, instead of fighting about who should succeed the late Vhamusanda Samuel Nwendamutswu. Rammbuda also appealed to the communities to allow the Nwendamutswu family to discuss the succession of the chieftainship alone, without interference.