Father’s grief at death of kids

Max Mayisela, the father of three school pupils who died in a minibus taxi crash that claimed 20 lives near Bronkhorstspruit last week, on Saturday expressed his sorrow at the loss of his children.

“The gap they have left in my life and family will never be fi lled,” said the teary-eyed Mayisela.

“My kids were very close to each other and they loved school. I loved them so much.

“I will always miss them. This is one of the most difficult times for us as a family.”

Mayisela’s sons Thapelo, 15, and Sibusiso, 9, and his daughter Nokuthula, 8, were among the 19 school pupils and a minibus taxi driver who died when the taxi collided with a truck on the R25 near Bronkhorstspruit on the border of Gauteng and Mpumalanga on Friday.

The minibus burst into flames after colliding with the truck, burning many of the occupants. Seven pupils who survived the crash were admitted to the KwaMhlanga Hospital and other medical facilities.

Mayisela, of Verena village in Mpumalanga, said what he had liked most about his children was that they always stood up for each other.

He said the crash had robbed him of a chance to care for and educate them as a father until they became adults.

He appealed to the government to amend road traffic laws to reduce road accidents.

“My kids always helped each other on many things. I last saw them on Friday morning when they went to school. They were happy.

“I could not believe it when I heard later in the afternoon that they all died in an accident. The government must introduce programmes to improve skills of drivers,” he said.

More than 20 people gathered at the Mayisela home on Saturday to pay their condolences to the grief-stricken family. They included officials from the African National Congress and Mpumalanga provincial government.

Mayisela said he worked as a driver for a living. His wife and mother of their children, Thandi Mayisela, was too traumatised to speak to ANA. The three were the only children he and Thandi had as a couple.

Gauteng education department spokesperson Steve Mabona said representatives from various spheres of government would meet to make arrangements for the families of the dead pupils to identify their bodies. – ANA