NO NUMBER of words of comfort from Minister of Transport Dr Blade Nzimande could console the bereaved Sekoma family which lost two members in last week’s train crash.
Nzimande visited the Soshanguve family yesterday.
Amid the hustle and bustle of Block M, life for the Sekomas is at a standstill.
Nzimande, who was accompanied by Passenger Rail Transport Agency of South Africa (Prasa) chief executive Sibusiso Sithole and other senior transport officials tried to comfort the grief-stricken family.
“I know me being here will not bring back the deceased, but we are here to show support and comfort,” said Nzimande.
Dick and Sarah Sekoma, 38 and 39 respectively, and two others died when two trains collided at Mountain View Train Station last Tuesday. More than 600 people were injured.
Nzimande shared words of comfort with the grieving family while assuring them that his department would work hard to deal with the issues.
“We are here to grieve with the family and to also make sure that they will be well looked after following the incident,” he told the family.
But Nzimande’s words seemed to have little effect on Boitumelo Sekoma, 18, the eldest child of the deceased. Tears trickled down her cheeks as Nzimande spoke. She sat in the corner with a white plaster on the side of her face and a sling wrapped around her left arm.
Her bloodshot eyes suggested that she had been crying for days. The last time she saw her parents alive was when they were with her on their way to the Tshwane University of Technology, where she was to register for an auditing course.
Besides physical injuries, including stitches on her face and fractured arm, Boitumelo has suffered immense emotional pain since losing her parents.
Apart from Boitumelo, the couple leaves behind Paulinah 16, David 12, Sonia and Brendan, 6, and Gontse, 3.
They were travelling with three of their children when the accident happened.
Nzimande said it was important to deal with the root cause behind the crashes instead of blaming ordinary workers.
He lashed out at Prasa, saying it had to account for the deadly train accident.
He gave the agency a few days to provide him with an explanation, also warning Prasa not to make false promises to the family and live up to its word of supporting the family emotionally and financially.
Prasa had undertaken to pay for the funeral and children’s stationery and study material.
Family spokesperson Tsakane Nkumane said they were devastated by the deaths and were scared to use the trains. “The thing is: trains are cheap and affordable; we have no alternative. But we as a family dread trains and it is going to take us an exorbitant amount of courage to climb on one. We want the government to fix trains because they are placing the lives of people at risk. These six children should have never lost their parents.”
Nkumane said the youngest child, Gontse, who was also injured in the accident, was still oblivious to what had happened to her parents. “Gontse has not asked a single question about her parents; she just sees the house always full of people.”
Last week the Rail Safety Regulator released a damning preliminary report on the crash which reflected that a communication breakdown and the use of manual signalling were the cause of the crash.
The report also stated that the signalling system had had issues since November last year. Both trains were travelling along the same line on the Pretoria-Mabopane route when they crashed into each other.
A joint memorial service will be held in Block M for the couple and another commuter. The funeral will be on Saturday.