Pedestrian killed in accident

The deceased's brother, Steady Dube, explains to the police officers that he and his two brothers had intended to go to Tshakhuma together.

Pedestrian killed in accident

A 19-year-old pedestrian was knocked down by a car and died on impact while trying to cross the Thohoyandou road on Saturday, at around 15:45.

A Zimbabwean asylum-seeker in South Africa, Fidelis Dube, was hit by a Toyota Corolla which was driving from the Thohoyandou side when he was walking from Eltivillas. The accident happened between the Makhado show grounds and the rugby fields.

Shortly after Dube had been knocked down, his older brother, Steady Dube (20), arrived at the scene. He noticed what had happened and wailed heartbrokenly. He explained that he, Fidelis and another brother, James (24), had just enjoyed food at one of the food stalls at Eltivillas.

“We meant to go to Tshakhuma together, but Fidelis walked off first,” explained Steady. “We stay at Mamvuka and Tshakhuma, because the kind of work we do demands that we move around a lot.”

James arrived after about 30 minutes and the police informed him about the accident that involved his sibling. He wept bitterly and spoke in Shona. “God has done his will, my brother is no more; he's gone,” he kept saying and praying as he moved around.

The closest police officer took a visibly traumatised James by the arm and led him to a safe spot under a tree leaning on the fence of the rugby grounds.

The police's provincial spokesperson, Col Ronel Otto, confirmed the incident and said that the driver of the Toyota Corolla had been arrested. “The police have opened a case of culpable homicide and the case was sent to the director of public prosecution for a decision,” Col Otto said. “The suspect was given a warning [to appear in court].”

Fidelis Dube was knocked down by a car on Saturday.

The police team combs the scene for information.

A police officer helps a heartbroken James Dube (24) to a safe spot under a tree.

Date:06 December 2013

By: Tshifhiwa Mukwevho

Tshifhiwa Given Mukwevho was born in 1984 in Madombidzha village, not far from Louis Trichardt in the Limpopo Province. After submitting articles for roughly a year for Limpopo Mirror's youth supplement, Makoya, he started writing for the main newspaper. He is a prolific writer who published his first book, titled A Traumatic Revenge in 2011. It focusses on life on the street and how to survive amidst poverty. His second book titled The Violent Gestures of Life was published in 2014.

Read: 2245