A mass funeral for seven of the eight African National Congress (ANC) members who died in the bus crash near Paulpietersburg in KwaZulu-Natal, is underway at a sports field in Fenie Village near Mayflower in Mpumalanga.
They were travelling from the party’s manifesto rally that was held in Durban last week, when the crash happened.
Amongst those who are attending the funeral service are national and provincial officials of the ANC as well as the ANC Chairperson in KZN, Siboniso Duma. ANC Secretary in Mpumalanga, Muzi Chirwa says the family of the eighth deceased requested to hold their own funeral service.
Maropene Ramokgopa, the party’s Second Deputy Secretary General, says the party has suffered a significant loss.
“We are truly saddened, and we have lost a lot; not only because we have lost our own leaders, but when you lose any life it really, really saddens us. But most of all of course we are saddened precisely because when you lose a leader, you lose someone who would have really led people to assist us, most especially because we are going to elections,” says Ramokgopa.
