Double tragedy for Cekiso family
The grieving family of Mzukisi Cekiso (37), the former IDP manager at Garden Route District Municipality, was struck by another tragedy on Sunday 2 August when his young daughter died in an accident, a mere two weeks after Cesiko's death. Uchongiwe Mjonto (8), her mother and another family member were returning to George from Cekiso's funeral in the Eastern Cape when the accident happened on the N9, near Holgate in the vicinity of Herold.
Uchongiwe's late father, who was fondly known as Mzu, died due to Covid-19 on 16 July. According to a family friend and colleague of Cekiso, Uchongiwe, a grade two learner at Denneoord Primary, was a happy child. "She was a lovely, bubbly, talkative child. She was full of life and she was strong for her mother when her father passed away. After crying a lot she was the one who consoled her mother," he said. "She will be sorely missed by her family."
The accident
According to the family friend, Uchongiwe and three other people were travelling in a Volkswagen GTI behind the car that her mother was in. "The child was not in the same car as her mother. The family returned in two separate cars. The car, a Volkswagen Fox, that collided with the car Uchongiwe was in, first passed the car in which her mother was travelling before it collided with them," he explained. The driver of the Fox, Leonardo Williams (35), and Uchongiwe were killed on impact. The other patients were transported to hospital.
According to Southern Cape police spokesperson Captain Malcolm Pojie, Williams was travelling in the direction to Uniondale when he collided with the GTI that was on its way to George.
Funeral arrangements
Uchongiwe will be buried in Molteno, her father's home town in the Eastern Cape, this coming Saturday.