Three die en route to identify suicide victim

An accident claimed the lives of three Kutama residents last Thursday (21^st), with a fourth person fighting for her life in hospital. The family members were on their way to identify the body of a relative who had apparently committed suicide.

According to a family representative, the 30-year-old Rudzani Madzhie, who resided at Zamenkomste village, had allegedly committed suicide some three weeks before in the Dendron area. He was missing for at least three weeks and the police had launched a search for him. His remains were eventually found in the bushes not far away from his work place.

Following the discovery of Rudzani’s body, the family members were notified and requested to drive to Dendron police station to get a letter they needed to hand in at the Polokwane Hospital, where the deceased’s body was kept. DNA tests needed to be conducted to determine his identity since his body had decomposed.

The deceased’s mother, Ms Matsidiso Madzhie (59), and his stepfather, Mr Simon Muthema (57), had requested the deceased’s maternal uncle and local businessman, Mr William Mauvhelwana Madzhie (66), to drive them to Polokwane. The deceased’s older sister, Ms Mashudu Madzhie (41), also joined them.

“The four apparently drove to Dendron police station to obtain the permission letter,” said a family representative, Mr Alex Madzhie. “Instead of driving straight to Polokwane, they postponed the journey to the next morning, because they wanted to first drive to the place where Rudzani's remains were discovered. It appears that they were involved in an accident when they were about to reach the spot where the remains were found,” he said.

The bakkie they were driving in apparently collided head-on with a local farmer's Toyota 4x4 Land Cruiser along the Legkraal curve. William (driver), Mashudu and Simon all died on impact, while Matsidiso was rushed to hospital after sustaining critical injuries. The male driver and only occupant of the Toyota bakkie was air-lifted to hospital.

“We have lost so many family members and a brother-in-law, and this is very traumatic,” Mr Alex Madzhie said.

Meanwhile, Muthema’s brother, Mr Shumani Muthema, said: “They came to my shop before they left. Simon requested a pack of cigarettes. Little did I know it was the last time to see him alive.”

Mr William Mauvhelwana Madzhie, who owned Fhatuwani Funerals and other businesses, is survived by his wife, four daughters and five grandchildren. He will be laid to rest on Saturday at 19:00 at Tshikwarani.

The joint funeral of Mr Simon Muthema, Ms Mashudu Madzhie and Rudzani Madzhie will be held on Saturday at 06:00 at Zamenkomste village.

The representative of the Kutama Traditional Authority, Mr Gilbert Muofhe, visited all the families and expressed the traditional council’s condolences to the affected families.

Date:03 March 2019

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.

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