Bronkhorstspruit – Max Mayisela, the father of three school pupils who died in a minibus taxi crash that claimed 20 lives near Bronkhorstspruit in Gauteng this week, on Saturday expressed his sorrow at the loss of his children.
“The gap they have left in my life and family will never be filled,” said the teary-eyed Mayisela.
“My kids were very close to each other and they loved school. I loved them so much. I will always miss them. This is one of the most difficult times for us as a family.”
Mayisela’s two sons Thapelo, 15, and Sibusiso, 9, and his daughter Nokuthula, 8, were among the 19 school pupils and a minibus taxi driver who died when the taxi collided with a truck on the R25 near Bronkhorstspruit on the border of Gauteng and Mpumalanga on Friday.
The minibus burst into flame after colliding with the truck, burning some of the occupants. Seven pupils who survived the crash were admitted at the KwaMhlanga Hospital and other medical facilities. Mayisela, of Verena village in Mpumalanga, told the African News Agency (ANA) that what he had liked most about his children was that they always stood up for each other. He said the crash had robbed him of a chance to care for and educate them as a father until they became adults.
He appealed to the government to amend road traffic laws to reduce road accidents.
The flow of traffic was back to normal on Saturday at the scene of the crash on the R25 near Bronkhorstspruit. Photo: ANA/Balise Mabona
“My kids always helped each other on many things. I last saw them on Friday morning when they went to school. They were happy. I could not believe it when I heard later in the afternoon that they all died in an accident. The government must introduce programmes to improve skills of drivers,” he said.
When ANA arrived at Myisela’s home in Verena village on Saturday afternoon, more than 20 people had gathered at the home to pay their condolences to the grief-stricken family. They included officials from the African National Congress and Mpumalanga provincial government.
Mayisela said he worked as a driver for a living. His wife and mother of their children Thandi Mayisela was too traumatised to speak to ANA.
The three were the only children he and Thandi had as a couple.
Gauteng education department spokesman Steve Mabona said representatives from various spheres of government would meet on Sunday and make arrangements for the families of the dead pupils to identify their bodies.