'Give me space' - Sanele May

Sanele May appearing in the Pinetown Magistrate Court during his trial. Picture: Jacques Naude

Sanele May appearing in the Pinetown Magistrate Court during his trial. Picture: Jacques Naude

Published Jan 25, 2020

Share

Durban  - Sanele May arrived at his homestead in the Shiselweni region, Eswatini, this week.

May, the truck driver who was involved in an accident on Field’s Hills which left 24 dead and many injured in 2013, was released after recommendations by a parole board at Umzinto Prison last month. He was then handed over to the Department of Home Affairs for deportation because he had entered the country illegally.

The news of his release was widely shared on social media on Wednesday as he arrived at the Lavumisa Border Gate. May told the Eswatini Observer, a newspaper in Eswatini, that he needed time to adjust.

He asked that he be given some privacy with his family as he had just arrived. “Kindly allow me time to adjust and maybe after that I will say something that the public may wish to know regarding my incarceration in South Africa.” 

Messages of support poured in on social media for May.

Karen Ann Janisch, founder of the Field’s Hill Helping Hands (FHHH), an organisation formed to provide support to the families affected by the incident, was elated by his release and said he had served his time in prison and that he should be allowed to to start a new life. 

“I believe this tragic and horrific ordeal is something that will haunt him for the rest of his life. He needs to forgive himself.”

Janisch said the organisation had over a period of four years assisted families who had lost loved ones by providing food, blankets, clothes and toys for the children until the time came to move on. Some families were also assisted with their Road Accident Fund claims. 

“It was very hard in the beginning. We had to build and establish a relationship of trust. There was also a language barrier at times although most families had someone who spoke and understood English well,” she said.

“Each family was very special, especially the children. It was a huge undertaking and an experience.”

The families had their last Christmas party in 2016, a time deemed appropriate by the FHHH to allow families to move on and spread their wings.

“It is amazing to see how each family has moved on with their lives and worked through some very dark times,” she said. “We still bump into some of the families and from time to time we get a WhatsApp message.”

SUNDAY TRIBUNE

Related Topics: