PREVIEW: Const Sifiso Ngema’s sister will forever treasure his final words
A police memorial service for Sifiso began at 9am today (Thursday) at the CBCI (Corner of Landdrost and Spoor Streets), while the funeral service will be held on Saturday at 8am at Mthashana College.
“TODAY I felt the joy of having a sister. The small things really count in life. Don’t ever forget that I love you,” said Constable Sifiso Ngema in the very last text message he would ever send his sister.
The day of his passing, Sifiso took his new bike to show it to his mother for the first time. She ululated in pride, sharing in her son’s happiness and taking photos to freeze that moment of joy, but her motherly instinct also compelled her to caution him to be safe on the roads.
Responding to his mother’s concern, he said, “If I were to die on my bike, I would die happy, doing something I love.”
As the family prepares to lay Sifiso to rest, it is the notion that he died happy, doing what he loved most that they hold on to for comfort.
Sifiso was travelling out of town to Johannesburg to sort out a starting problem on his bike on Friday afternoon, when he lost his life in a fatal collision. Witnesses say he was overtaking when he collided with a bakkie that was turning right onto the Captain Bucks Road.
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“The bike Sifiso was riding was only five weeks old, so I don’t know why the starter was giving him a problem. He has owned three other bikes in the past, and has been involved in three serious accidents, but he somehow pulled through,” said Mbusi, Sifiso’s sister.
“Sifiso has loved bikes ever since we were teenagers growing up in Lakeside. A traffic cop who lived in our area owned a bike, and every time Sifiso saw him he had a million questions. It wasn’t long before he had a bike of his own.”
Sifiso leaves behind his wife, Phumi, and four sons, who he loved very much. Phumi told the Vryheid Herald on Tuesday that she was supposed to have travelled on the bike with him to Johannesburg that Friday, but Sifiso insisted that she take a taxi and join him later.
ALSO READ: Vryheid shaken over the loss of another biker
“I was heading out of the door with my bags in hand, when I got a call from a member of the Bikers4eva Club. Believing that it must be a minor incident, I dropped my bags and drove to the scene. When I got there, Sifiso was already covered,” said Phumi.
“I was never interested in bikes till I met Sifiso. However, after we married he even bought me a bike and I loved going for rallies. Nothing will be the same without him. He was the most helpful, humble and playful person I know.”
Before becoming a dedicated police officer in Vryheid’s Crime Prevention Unit, he had worked as a taxi driver, DJ and wedding photographer.
Read more about Sifiso Ngema in today’s edition of the Vryheid Herald.
A case of culpable homicide was opened following the collision. Police investigations are ongoing.
A police memorial service for Sifiso began at 9am today (Thursday) at the CBCI (Corner of Landdrost and Spoor Streets), while the funeral service will be held on Saturday at 8am at Mthashana College. Residents who wish to pay their respects are welcome to attend.
