It is almost a year since two women were killed by a metro bus outside the Boksburg Civic Centre, but their families are still waiting for authorities to give them answers about what led to the tragic loss of their loved ones.
Annatjie van Niekerk (61) of Witfield and security guard Livhuaani Mahashe (44) of Ramaphosa informal settlement died at about 08:00 on April 6, 2021, when a municipal bus driver lost control of the vehicle and ran over them outside the Civic Centre Clinic.
Van Niekerk’s family told the Advertiser they have hired a lawyer to try and get answers and justice for their loved one.
The family’s lawyer, Tanya Sulk, accused the metro of failure to deliver on its promises to compensate the affected family or provide them with counselling.
“They promised the family a full report of the accident, but to date, this has not happened.
“I’m doing everything in my power to ensure the family is compensated, but the metro is delaying the process.
“We still don’t know what caused the accident and what happened to the bus driver,” said Sulk.
She said the metro is not willing to give her or the family any concrete information, and she is appealing to anyone with video footage or an eyewitness account of the crash that could assist in solving the case to contact her.
Eyewitnesses may email sasa@tmfattorneys.co.za or call 065 580 5704 or 063 544 9446.
Meanwhile, Mahashe’s brother, Ntambu Mahashe, said the metro promised to help them bury his sister, but that didn’t happen.
“One of the municipal officials wasn’t even helpful when I called, asking for assistance with the funeral arrangements. That was for us a clear indication that the metro was not willing to help us.
“I have stopped communicating with the metro because I have lost hope we will ever get any form of assistance,” said Mahashe.
According to metro spokesperson Zweli Dlamini, an accident report was compiled and submitted to relevant structures.
“The involved bus is not yet back on the road; it’s at our Germiston workshop.
“The driver returned to work after being discharged from hospital following the crash.
“The investigation into the accident is being conducted by the Boksburg SAPS. Once the investigation is complete, the report will be shared with the families of the victims,” said Dlamini.
Boksburg SAPS spokesperson Sgt Ntsako Ledwaba said a culpable homicide case was registered after the accident and detectives are still waiting for a post-mortem report.
“We have not yet received the full bus accident report from the EMPD,” said Ledwaba.
However, the EMPD said its Accident Investigation Unit members handed the case over to the Boksburg police, who attended the scene.
“Immediately after the crash, a case of culpable homicide was registered by the EMPD officers who then handed it over to the SAPS, so we are also waiting for them to give us feedback,” said EMPD spokesperson Kelebogile Thepa.
The Advertiser was on the scene shortly after the crash, and an eyewitness, who asked not to be named, said they were in the queue outside the clinic where a security guard was sanitising the patients’ hands. All of a sudden, they noticed a ‘speeding’ bus coming straight towards them.
“Everyone ran in different directions and after a few moments, I saw the two bodies of the women on the ground.
“Everyone was screaming and crying. I fell when I ran. I am still traumatised,” she said.
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