Four Gauteng fire victims buried at Tshino

The Makhado councillor in the Vuwani area, Cllr Mapule Hlabioa, has urged churches and pastors to continue praying for the last surviving member of the Ratsimbi family, who lost four members in a fire last week.

The family members of Tshino in the Vuwani area died in a fire in Gauteng last week. The deceased are Mr Sakiel Ratsimbi (27), the father, children Patricia (3), Orilia (5) and Sakiel (7). The mother of the children, Ms Mulalo Ratsimbi, was the sole survivor of the inferno.

The four were buried during an emotional funeral service, held at the family homestead, that later proceeded to the local cemetery. The funeral was attended by many members of the community structures, including the Nesengani Pastor’s Forum, which took a leading role in the preparations and the burial.

“This is the first of such incidents during my term as councillor in this area. The worst part of it is that I knew the victims, especially the mother, who is very close to me,” said Hlabiwa, who was close to tears. She urged the family to accept what had happened and to try and move on with their lives.

“Let’s stop talking bad things about the incident and concentrate on praying for the good of the last surviving member of the family, Mulalo. She needs our support, and I therefore urge all churches and pastors to remember Mulalo in their prayers,” she said.

Ms Evelyn Managa, the principal of Mpheni Primary School, where the children attended school, said it was sad to have lost so many people in one incident. “Mulalo came just before the closing of the school to ask for the kids to be released as they used to visit Gauteng each quarter. Little did we know that it was going to be the last time we would see the children alive. We only heard the bad news and this is very sad because Sakiel had attained very high marks in his half-year exams. We have lost bright leaders-to-be,” she said.

Date:25 July 2014

By: Elmon Tshikhudo

Elmon Tshikhudo started off as a photographer. He developed an interest in writing and started submitting articles to local as well as national publications. He became part of the Limpopo Mirror family in 2005 and was a permanent part of the news team until 2019.

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