Local victims of church tragedy to be buried

The remains of the 13 residents who died about two months ago, when a guest house of the Synagogue Church of All Nation collapsed in Nigeria, arrived in Polokwane on Monday.

The tragedy claimed the lives of 116 people, including 85 of South Africa. The remains of 74 victims were brought back to South Africa over the weekend. Eight of the Limpopo victims are Vhembe-based people.

During a ceremony, Premier Stan Mathabatha urged the families to accept what had happened and to try to move on with their lives. He expressed his shock about the horrific accident and sent his condolences to the bereaved families.

“Let’s stop talking bad things about the incident and concentrate on praying for the members of
the families.

They need our support, and I therefore urge all churches and pastors to remember the families in
their prayers,” he said. He expressed confidence that the authorities in Nigeria would do their work
"to assist us to close this chapter. Beyond this, we will ensure that these mortal remains of our departed compatriots are laid to rest with dignity in the land of their birth.”

Ms Matilda Mamafha was understandably relieved that the bodies of two members of her family, Robert Mamafha and Dimakatso Maponya, were among the returnees. Although she was visibly relieved, she said the prolonged procedure to return the remains of her family members had been a painful experience. “The past two months, following the sad news of the passing of our family
members, have been painful and stressful. Today we are breathing a sigh of relief as we are  reunited with our beloved family members, despite the fact that they are lifeless,” said a distraught Mamafha.

Two of the eight deceased from Vhembe will be buried at Musina, another two at Shayandima and one each at Mukumbani, Mashamba, Makuvha and Mukula.

Date:21 November 2014

By: Kaizer Nengovhela

Kaizer Nengovhela started writing stories for Limpopo Mirror in 2000. Prior to that he had a five year stint at Phala-Phala FM as sports presenter. In 2005 Kaizer received an award from the province's premier as Best Sports Presenter. The same year he was also nominated as Best Sports Reporter by the Makhado Municipality. Kaizer was awarded the Mathatha Tsedu award in 2014.

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