Royal family members killed in N1 bypass collision laid to rest
Members of the Nwedamutswu Royal Family were killed when the vehicle they were travelling in collided head-on with a truck on the N1 bypass in Polokwane.
LIMPOPO – Transport MEC, Polly Boshielo told mourners of the royal house of Nwedamutswu and the family of Phalanndwa in Tshixwadza on September 10 that she was there to convey her condolences after a horrific accident that claimed the lives of 10 people.
Read more: UPDATE: Death toll in N1 bypass collision rises to 10
“I was on my way to the sitting of the Limpopo Legislature on September 6 when I received a message informing me of the accident and we rushed to the scene. It was truly a horrific sight,” she remarked.
Boshielo, who was joined by Thovhele Ratshibvumo II Rammbuda, addressed to friends and families who gathered in Tshixwadza Sports Ground to bid farewell to the 10 victims of the collision, which included members of the Nwedamutswu Royal Family, and a neighbour.
She said the cause of the incident is yet to be determined.
According to reports, members of the Nwedamutswu royal family, relatives and friends were travelling in a SUV from a family funeral in Gauteng and the accident happened on their way home, when the vehicle they were travelling in collided head–on with a truck on the N1 bypass in Polokwane.
A neighbour and friend to the royal house of Nwedamutswu was also killed.
During the funeral on Saturday, Annah Nwedamutswu (90), the widow to the late traditional leader, Chief Samuel Nwedamutswu, Doreen Nwedamutswu (38), Gordon Nwedamutswu (46), Tshedza Phalanndwa (29) and Othathile (2) were buried in Tshixwadza, some were buried in Shoshanguve, while others were buried in Mpumalanga and the Eastern Cape.
The chairperson of the Nwedamutswu Royal Council, Dr Laune Kone said the families were still saddened as the deceased they were burying were not sick, but met an untimely death.
Kone said they were supposed to install a new chief on Saturday, but instead, they mourned their beloved people.
Thovhele Ratshibvumo II Rammbuda made an appeal to the Nwedamutswu royal family to instead of fighting chieftainship battles, develop a love for each other as life is short.
Rammbuda urged communities to leave it to the Nwedamutswu royal family to discuss the succession of chieftainship and to keep from interfering.
