Soccer star and traffic officer laid to rest

Traffic officer, Shadrack Mathatho, who passed on following a car crash in Pienaarsrivier, was laid to rest in his hometown of Mahwelereng outside Mokopane on Saturday 29 September.

Mourners from across Limpopo arrived in numbers to pay their last respects to a man who was also known as a sensational soccer star, at the local Mahwelereng Real Rovers Football Club.

Friends, relatives, colleagues and neighbours were shocked to learn about Mathatho’s untimely passing, as a result of a road accident.

The accident happened on Sunday 23 September, near the Pienaarsrivier police station.

It was reported that the officer was off-duty, driving to Bela-Bela, where he stayed, when a car coming from north and headed south smashed into his car.

Mantsole Traffic Station Commander, Lesedi Kekana, expressed his sadness and disbelief.

“Mathatho was a hard worker and never complained. He would make sure there is peace and harmony whenever he was and many of our colleagues can attest to that,” he said.

Kekana grew up with the late Mathatho in Mokopane and went to school together in 1977, attending at Nonchimudi Primary School in Mahwelereng.

In his early working days Mathatho was employed as a security officer until he joined the traffic department in 1997.

— The BEAT