UPDATE: Stranded Malawians finally begin journey home
After four nights, a birth of twins and the subsequent death of one of the newborns, 21 of the 23 stranded Malawians are on their way back home.
A private company donated a bus and trailer to transport the passengers and their luggage to Mzuzu, in Malawi.
READ: Stranded passengers start off-loading bus on Tom Jones Street
The old bus was towed away from Tom Jones Street on June 2 and the new vehicle arrived at around midnight on the same day.
After the Malawian Consulate gave the travellers new one-way travel documents, the Gauteng Social Development MEC, Nandi Mayathula-Khoza, addressed them and the crowd which had gathered.
“These are our brothers and sisters, we have to help them,” said Mayathula-Khoza on June 3.
She sent her condolences to Mercy Ndhlovu, whose newborn baby died at around 2am on the same day.
The baby, named Tom, after the street he was born on, was one of a pair of twin boys delivered in the bus on May 31.
“The baby died as a result of being prematurely born, as this caused bleeding on the baby’s lungs,” Mayathula-Khoza added.
“The second baby is in a stable condition in the ICU (intensive care unit) at Tambo Memorial Hospital.
“We ask the people of South Africa to pray for the baby’s speedy recovery and the department will provide the mother with counselling.”
She said the department would help Ndhlovu with burial and medical costs.
Mayathula-Khoza and Clr Mary Goby (Ward 28) thanked the community, local companies, churches and social welfare organisations for the help and support provided to the Malawian passengers.
Before the bus left, most of those present, including the passengers, formed a circle and prayed for a safe trip. The crowd cheered as the Malawian guests finally started their journey home.
The first bus, carrying 23 passengers, broke down before the N12 highway’s Tom Jones off-ramp on May 30, after which the passengers were forced to stay on the bus and wait for help.
Community members, shops and organisations quickly responded by bringing food and the passengers were allowed to bath at the Salvation Army.
The bus driver, Mayeso Louhana, also from Malawi, said the bus would go through Zimbabwe and Mozambique, before travelling to Mzuzu.
He said most of the passengers are from the area around Mzuzu, which is situated in the north of the country.
Ndhlovu and her sister, who were travelling on the bus when it broke down, will stay behind with Ndhlovu’s other baby, Jones, until he is strong enough to travel.
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