Paramedic dies weeks after helping family
MBOMBELA - Just weeks after appearing in Lowvelder for kind-heartedly building a coffin for the baby of a struggling family, the young Hi-Tech Nelspruit paramedic, Sakhile Mabuza, died tragically in a car accident in Hazyview on Sunday night, September 4.
At just 30, not only had Mabuza been a dedicated and excellent paramedic for almost a decade, he was a father of three young children, a loving husband, son and brother, and a skilled woodworker with a penchant for kindness and helping people in need.
Mabuza had appeared on page 5 of Lowvelder on August 25 for going above and beyond the call of duty and hand-making a coffin for a struggling White River family whose nine-month-old baby had just died.
Mabuza had been working the night shift with his partner, Charity Moyane, on the evening of Saturday August 13, when they were called out to a house in White River to treat an ill baby. However, when they arrived, the baby was dead and there was nothing that could be done.
Moyane and Mabuza sat with the devastated family for hours, until almost midnight, trying to arrange affordable funeral services.
Mabuza had told Lowvelder that he knew the family was struggling financially, and he decided then and there he would offer to help them in some way. In his spare time, he built a coffin for the little one.
Late on Sunday evening, Mabuza’s colleagues received the heartwrenching call that the paramedic had been in a car accident in Hazyview and had been trapped in the vehicle.
Mabuza’s wife, Daisy, gave a touching tribute to her husband.
“Not so long ago, we were appreciating and celebrating the good you did for the less fortunate. Here we are today, celebrating your life. Our kids are asking, when is daddy coming back, and the only answer I can give them is tears.
“Go well, my love. I will see you in the morning, Mshengu. Daisy will forever love you.”
Mabuza’s family said he was the third of four children.
“Out of all of us, he was the most stubborn and hardheaded, but sweet at the same time. You were the bravest, and always took charge fearlessly. We still can’t believe you are gone. We never expected to say goodbye so soon. Words cannot describe the mixed emotions we are feeling now.
“We will always miss the happy moments we shared together. You will always remain in our hearts, Sakhile,” said the Mabuza family.
ER24’s Cobus Els said that Mabuza was a great basic life support paramedic.
“Quiet and always willing to assist, he always kept focused on the task at hand. He was also a good man, father, friend and colleague. He not only leaves a big gap in the Lowveld EMS, but also in our hearts and lives. He will surely be missed. Rest in peace, Sakhi, till the day the last trumpet shall sound.”
Hi-Tech is in the process of compiling its tribute to its beloved employee.