Wrapped in the colours of the African National Congress, the coffins were those of;
· Sicelo Keswa, of Sunrise View, age 20.
· Daphne Linda, of Molelki Section, Katlehong, age 59.
· Gugulethu Sithole, of Moleleki Section, Katlehong, age 33
· Mphikeleli Malindi, of Extension 20, Vosloorus, age 42.
· Sanah Sibeko, of Sphamadla Housing, age 60
· Sesi Mtshali, of Extension II, Moleleki, Katlehong, age 60.
· Tisetso Ntselo, of Extension I, Moleleki, Katlehong, age 27.
· Simphiwe Nhlapo, of Sphamandla age 28.
· Siphamandla Gedle, of Extension 1, Moleleki l, age 28
The family of the 10th victim, Vusi Nkabinde, of Extension 20, Vosloorus, age 43, had requested that he be buried in his ancestral village in KwaZulu-Natal.
Bereaved family members and mourners packed the large white canvas tent and listened attentively as the mayor, Clr Mondli Gungubele, started the service by reading the welcoming remarks, before handing the service over to inter-faith priests for the obituaries.
Later the arrival of President Jacob Zuma was welcomed with a thunderous roar of acknowledgement from the crowd. Sports minister Fikile Mbalula and other high profile politicians and dignitaries, also filed through the VIP entrance on the north side of the tent.
Thousands more chanting African National Congress supporters all clad in the party’s colorful regalia, arrived at the venue amidst a chorus of political songs, ululation, dancing and shouts of “Viva ANC.”
Addressing the mourners inside the huge white tent erected on the grounds of the cultural precinct for the occasion, the President told mourners that the deceased should be honoured as the ancestors of the African National Congress.
Ditsilane Cultural Village was built as a local heritage site to represent the cultural and traditional aspirations of the country’s different racial groups.
Asked to comment on the President’s call, Chief Mluleki Jali of the Batlokoa and leader of the newly established Gauteng Traditional Council, which also acts as the custodian of African customs and traditions, urged the country’s leaders to take the necessary steps to “cleanse” such tragedies to avoid them from happening again.
Jali pointed out that the recent bus accident would require the participation of senior ANC officials in following traditional rituals to stop a tragedy like this happening again. “Burying these people and washing our hands afterwards should not be the end,” he said.
He cited what he claims are known traditional practices and rituals which he says are crucial when a large number of people die in a tragic incident. “For instance, the body of a person who had died in a motor car accident, is not brought to the house for burial. It is taken straight from the church or whenever the burial service is held, straight to the cemetery,” explained Chief Jali.
According to Chief Jali, the death of a person who is killed away from his home or who is killed in a road accident is usually followed by certain strict rituals, which if they are performed could, claims Chief Jali, allow the dead person to rest peacefully.
“In this particular instance where 10 people died in a road accident far away from their homes, it will be up to the organisation that they belonged to at the time of their death to perform the ritual of fetching their spirits from where the accident happened,” said Chief Jali.
He urged the African National Congress officials to negotiate with the families of all the deceased to jointly perform such a ritual. Jali said the recent ANC Manifesto Rally bus accident brought back vivid memories of the 2003 Saulspoort Cosatu bus accident.
In that incident a bus carrying an estimated 80 to 90 Cosatu-affiliated trade union members were travelling from Kimberley to a May Day rally at the Phuthaditshaba Stadium in Qwaqwa. The bus plunged into the Saulspoorts Dam, also in the Free State, and on the same N1, killing 65 and leaving only 10 survivors.
And as I watched the nine coffins carrying the remains of the ANC volunteers were lowered into their respective open graves alongside one another, at the Thomas Nkobi Cemetery, Chief Jali’s candid advice and warning loomed large in my mind.
Lalani Ngoxolo Maqabane!
