Three people, who died in a collision between a minibus taxi and an SUV, which claimed 17 lives, have been laid to rest in Lebowakgomo, Limpopo. They were killed nearly three weeks ago on the N1, near Mookgophong, when their taxi burst into flames.
The remains of 33-year-old, Sina Valoyi, and her two children, Palesa aged 11 and 16-year-old Mashudu, were handed back to the family, last week.
It was pouring at the Lebowakgomo cemetery, as mourners gathered for the burial of the Valoyi family members.
Sinah Valoyi, her two children, Palesa and Mashudu’s tragic deaths, along with 14 other victims of the horrific collision, has not been easy for grieving families to process.
The Valoyi Family Spokesperson, Maurice Petje, says they are still in shock.
“It is devastating, the experience that we had has shut down the whole family. We never expected it and losing three people at a go is a mess, and the mother, as you can see, she is not coping. It is hard. She has been hard hit. The whole family is in shock.”
The Valoyi family and others were handed back the charred remains of their loved ones on Friday last week. This is after they were identified through DNA tests.
Provincial government authorities, including the Health and Social Development Departments, said they needed to identify the remains speedily so as to allow the healing process for the families to begin.
Petje expressed gratitude.
“We want to thank our provincial leadership for really assisting us. We were really panicking because such cases take a long time to get closure. What they have done, I should think, they need a pat on their shoulders because there are a lot of people waiting for their DNA results, but we didn’t wait for more than a month. We just waited for two weeks.”
Other grieving families buried their loved ones during the past week.
