LIMPOPO MIRROR
2 10 April 2015 By Isabel Venter
Numerous accidents this Easter weekend
Two grannies, Vho-Mudalahothe Mudau and Vho-Makwarela Mudau, were very happy when they were given a surprise birthday party by their children, grandchildren and greatgrandchildren. Vho-Makwarela is 85 years old, while Vho-Mudalahothe has just turned 90. The event happened at Magobo section of Ha-Nthabalala on Saturday.
Any hope that the usual carnage on the region’s roads over the past week could be avoided as thousands of motorists embarked on their return journey after celebrating this year’s Easter weekend proved futile. As traffic volumes increased dramatically, Monday saw a string of accidents occurring within hours of each other. By some kind of miracle, no fatalities were reported on Monday, but several people sustained serious injuries. On Tuesday, however, one person did pass away after a bus accident. The weekend started off with a false accident report, and as the weekend progressed, there were some minor accidents. On Friday, reports came in of four accidents, two near the Lalapanzi Hotel on the N1 north, and two near Bandelierkop. Nobody was seriously injured in these incidents. On Saturday and Sunday, no further accidents were reported as most travellers had reached their destinations and congestion on the region’s roads eased. Alas, Monday dawned, bringing with it some rain, low clouds and mist. These misty conditions on the N1 north soon caused one accident after the other. According to rescue workers who attended to the accidents,
motorists' speeding despite poor driving conditions might have contributed to many of the accidents. The first accident, near Bandelierkop, left nine people seriously injured after a mini-bus taxi attempted to make a U-turn on the national road. Shortly after this accident, two more occurred near the Witvlag turn-off along the N1 north. In the first accident, two vehicles driving in opposite directions crashed into each other after both the drivers apparently lost control on the slippery road. Three children were seriously injured, while three adults escaped with less serious injuries. Scarcely had the road been cleared of the crash debris, when another accident occurred near the Mountain Inn Hotel. The driver of a petrol truck also lost control of his vehicle in the wet conditions and it spun out of control. In the process, oil was spilled on the road, making the N1 even more slippery, thereby causing the drivers of another truck and four other vehicles to lose control, almost causing a massive pile-up. The flow of traffic was held up for about an hour while the truck was cleared from the road. Fortunately nobody was injured
here too. Two more minor accidents were reported after this, one near Madombidza and one near Vleyfontein. In both incidents the driver fled the scene. Early on Tuesday morning, a City-to-City bus travelling to Louis Trichardt crashed into the mountain after the driver lost control in the thick fog. One passenger was killed on impact. All the other passengers were taken to the Louis Trichardt Memorial Hospital where they were treated for minor to serious cuts and bruises. On Wednesday morning, a driver travelling towards Thohoyandou on the Levubu road crashed into a young kudu. The impact of the crash caused the driver's vehicle to veer off the road, where it overturned and landed in the bushes. The driver was not seriously injured in the incident, but the kudu was killed on impact. In the meantime, the Limpopo Department for Roads and Transport confirmed that 35 people had perished on the province's roads over the Easter weekend. One of the more serious accidents, along the N1 south between Mookgophong and Modimolle, claimed the lives of 13 people when a taxi and bakkie collided.
By Silas Nduvheni The community around Vhembe recently attended the 104th birthday celebrations of Gogo Nyamuladelo Mashamba of Rathidili. Unlike most of the senior citizens who suffer from diabetes, high blood pressure and heart diseases, Mashamba said she was very healthy. She still eats salt and sugar and that does not give her any problems. She added that eating healthy food, working hard and abstaining from alcohol were some of the secrets of a long life. She has three children,18 grandchildren and 36 great-grandchildren.
In a country struggling to curb incidents of identity theft, finding a whole heap of South African identity documents dumped in the trash is surely not something one sees everyday. This is exactly what a resident found at the municipal dumping site outside Louis Trichardt on Tuesday morning. In November 2009, the Zoutpansberger reported on a similar incident, where a large number of official temporary driver’s licences from the Makhado Municipality where found dumped at the site. After the report, the authorities were quick to remove the documents. By the time of our going to press, the police had been informed of the incident and they undertook to investigate the matter. Photo supplied.
The Vhuthu NPO, Premjee and Sons and Hyundai Louis Trichardt recently launched a Wina-Car Competition. During the event, Mr Happy Mugobi from Vhuthu said that people who bought a ticket to the value of R50 stood a chance of winning the vehicle during the draw at the end of May. In our photo are, among others, Messrs Shyam Premjee, Happy Mugobi, Atul Premjee, Patrick Phaladi (Hyundai), and Hamid Karim (Hyundai).
Limpopo mourn death of struggle veteran Residents of Limpopo is mourning the death of a former Limpopo MPL, Mr Maxwell Humbulani Nemadzivhanani (59), who passed away last Wednesday in the Polokwane Mediclinic after a long illness. He resigned as a member of the Limpopo legislature after the May 2014 elections and was pursuing his own business at the time of his death. The family spokesperson and the younger brother of the deceased, Mr Khuliso Nemadzivhanani, said the family was still saddened by the passing away of Maxwell, who was pillar to the family and to the community at large. The ANC in Limpopo said Nemadzivhanani would be sorely missed and they held a memorial service on 9 April in the Jack Botes Hall in Polokwane. Nemadzivhanani was born in Vhufuli village outside Thohoyandou. He attended school at Vhufuli Primary and Tshivhase Secondary and left the country and went into exile in Botswana in 1977. At that stage, he was a member of the Pan Africanist Congress. After 1992 he came back to South Africa
and served in many PAC structures. He became a member of the Limpopo Legislature in 2000. He joined the ANC in 2004 and served as member of the Limpopo Legislature for almost 10 years. He is survived by his wife, Tshililo, four sons and a daughter. He will be buried at his home village of Vhufuli on Saturday. The funeral service will start at 07:00 at the Tshivhase High School and later proceed to the Tshitereke village graveyard. Mr Maxwell Nemadzivhanani
By Kaizer Nengovhela
More harmony among Kutama royals The hatchet has partly been buried in the fight for leadership in the Kutama royal family, and most members are confident that the different parties can work together under the leadership of Chief Prince Vele Kutama. A few weeks ago, the Thohoyandou High Court was asked to rule on a dispute concerning the chieftainship. The decision in 2013 of the Kutama royal council to appoint Vele Kutama as chief was challenged by the son of the late Chief Peter Kutama, Mpho Andropov Kutama, and his uncle, Aifheli Andries Kutama. They argued that Mpho Kutama, as the only surviving son of the late chief, should have been next in line for the kingship. Judge NF Kgomo disagreed with them and ruled that children born from a wife other than the
Dzekiso wife are not in line for succession. Mpho Kutama’s father, Khosi Fhumulani Peter Kutama, refused to marry a Dzekiso wife and instead married someone from a different lineage, namely Martha Kutama. The judge ruled that Prince Vele Kutama was the correct choice, because “He is the most senior of the living Dzekiso sons of a recognised chief.” The court ruling was welcomed by the the Kutama Royal Family and their spokesperson, Vhamusanda Vho-Ntanganedzeni Progress Kutama, said it favoured both parties because the court could not appoint a chief. Aifheli Andries Kutama afterwards commented that they might opt to appeal and have the case reviewed. The past weekend, things changed and Andries Kutama
openly apologised to the Kutama Royal Council for bringing the house in disrepute. He promised to work together with the other family members in their endeavours to lead the community. Vhamusanda Vho-Ntanga nedzeni Progress Kutama said that those opposing them had again learnt the lesson that a chieftainship cannot be installed by a court. “A chieftainship is not something that can be inherited. It is the property of the royal family, who act as its custodians,” he said. He also encouraged disgruntled members to rather sit around a table and solve problems amicably. “We welcome the decision taken by vho-Andries and his group that they still want to be part of the family and rule the community as a unit,” he said.