‘She was the sister we never had’
Traffic officer Inspector Kedibone Matsaung was taking part in a festive season blitz to curb speeding on the N1 highway in Limpopo when she was killed by a “speeding driver”.
In that moment the mother from Mokopane became a statistic in the road carnage she had dedicated her life to preventing. Her goal was to warn road users of hazards and deter speeding on the national highway in her patrol zone.
“She was completely dedicated to her work. Come rain or shine, she would put on her uniform and head out. Her job was important to her and she always told us how necessary it was to just soldier on because the mission was huge. When she died the status on her phone was ‘Limpopo is a country on its own’,” said her cousin, Kabelo Matsaung Makapane.
Makapane, who lives in Kyalami but was in Hammanskraal for the holidays, got a phone call on Wednesday from his younger brother who said: “Kedibone has been hit by a car and she has passed away.”
He called other relatives, but nobody knew anything.
Then he dialled her number.
“I was hoping she would pick up, but a male voice answered. I asked to speak to her and he said she has just gone away for a bit and he will call me back. I waited about 30 minutes and called again ... He asked who I was, so I told him. Her colleagues know how much Kedibone embraced her family, so he told me she had been knocked down,” said Makapane.
He immediately called his mother and news spread through the family. They rallied together and headed to Matsaung’s home in Chroom Park where she lived with her 19year-old daughter Moeteku, a second-year graphic design student.
“Kedibone was the power in our family. She was the one who pulled everyone together and could settle squabbles. We, her cousins, are four boys and we all grew up together. She was the sister we never had,” Makapane said.
“We arrived here and it was surreal. Kedibone is always the one who organises and delegates and co-ordinates things. Now suddenly we had to sort out the stuff she would naturally do. We were lost.”
The family has been trying to make sense of the tragedy and come to terms with their
loss. Moeteku, described as a quiet person who was close to her mother, cried constantly after being told what had happened.
“We know that the person who knocked Kedibone down has been arrested, has appeared in court and was denied bail. We have not yet looked at the accident report that is something we cannot do yet. But we have organised the funeral for next Saturday.
“We accept that Kedibone died doing her job. We are so proud of her. We have dropped everything and are going to do everything in our power to pay tribute to her.”
Road Traffic Management Corp spokesperson Simon Zwane said yesterday 625 roadblocks had been conducted since December 1 and 1,153,000 vehicles had been stopped and checked.
Kedibone was the power in our family. She was the one who pulled everyone together and could settle squabbles
Kabelo Matsaung Makapane Matsaung‘s cousin
More than 283,000 fines were issued for various infringements and 3,831 vehicles were impounded.
Zwane said 5,463 drivers were arrested 2,127 of them for drunk driving.
Most drunk driving arrests were made in Gauteng, the Western Cape and Eastern Cape, he said.
The N3 Toll Concession said traffic on the route was heavy this weekend, with peak conditions expected today as holidaymakers returned to Gauteng. Congestion and delays were expected.
Operations manager Thania Dhoogra said up to 1,900 vehicles an hour were recorded on northbound lanes on Friday and warned motorists to be extra cautious and obey road rules as parts of the route were prone to thunderstorms and severe weather conditions at this time of the year.