Nine ZCC members laid to rest after tragic crash
The coffins of the nine people who died in a car crash last week during their mass funeral in Mtubatuba on Sunday.
Image: Supplied
A MASS funeral service was held on Sunday in Mtubatuba, northern KwaZulu-Natal, for the nine victims of a devastating road crash that occurred in Empangeni last week.
The deceased, Makhosi Magwaza (57), Celiwe Zikhali (55), Dudu Mthembu (52), Winnie Mkhwanazi (52), Cabangile Mavundla (52), Qhamukile Khumalo (40), Sihle Ndamase (24), Mphikiseni Sithole (57), and Bongani Ndlovu (46).
The Mkhwanazi family opted to bury their one loved Winnie Mkhwanazi in Nongoma, also in the north of the province.
They were all members of the Zion Christian Church (ZCC), and lost their lives when a tow truck crashed into the back of the minibus taxi they were travelling in.
Grieving families and congregants, dressed in their church uniforms, gathered under a marquee at Silethukukhanya High School in Ward 3 to pay their last respects.
Speaking at the funeral, the Deputy Minister of Transport Mkhuleko Hlengwa said: “The law enforcement operations of the country will ensure a fully-fledged prosecutorial process into this matter, regarding the driver of the breakdown vehicle (tow truck) and to the driver of the Hyundai vehicle.”
He called for the investigators to thoroughly probe the alleged claims on what led led to the death of the nine people.
Hlengwa said the department will continue to raise awareness for motorists to abide by the rules of the road to avoid fatalities.
MEC for Transport in KwaZulu-Natal Siboniso Duma, who also attended the funeral, had assigned a team of senior managers from the department to be with the grieving families from the time the incident happened.
“The Mkhwanazi family is a child-headed household following the death of Mama Winnie Nobuhle Mkhwanazi on Mother’s Day. The children are now orphans with no source of income. To complicate matters, children are living in abject poverty and in a dilapidated mud house. Tomorrow (Monday), we will announce interventions by the Department of Human Settlements,” said Duma.
“We will interact with traffic officers who witnessed the accident that resulted in the decapitation of the victims. We are fast-tracking professional counselling to enable officers to manage mental health challenges such as depression, anxiety, flashbacks, nightmares, and intense emotional distress,” he added.
According to Duma, studies have revealed that traffic officers who were exposed to gruesome collision scenes were likely to be involved in substance abuse, femicide, and gender-based violence. This was allegedly due to stress.
“As a department, we value our officers. It is for this reason that we want to take care of their well-being and their families.”
The crash came as the province registered a significant drop in road fatalities during the Easter Weekend after 27 people died on the roads, compared to 47 in 2024.
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