Due to heavy rains and thunderstorms, four people were seriously injured while another 120 sustained minor injuries when a bus in which they were travelling overturned and smashed into trees in Shihosana village in the Malamulele area on Tuesday.

The incident happened on the Giyani-Vuwani road at about 6:15 in the morning. Some 124 commuters were rushed to the nearby Nkhensani Hospital in Giyani, while others were taken to Malamulele Hospital. At the time of going to press, 39 injured victims had already been discharged, while 85 were still receiving treatment at the two hospitals.

According to the spokesman for the Malamulele police, Insp Magedzi Mapindani, the bus was transporting 124 passengers instead of 65. “Apparently, the bus driver lost control of the bus, which caused it to overturn. Preliminary police investigations revealed that overloading might have been the cause, as there were more than 120 passengers on board,” he said.

He said that those involved in the accident were mostly pupils and farm workers.
“We have opened a case of reckless and negligent driving against the driver. Further charges may be brought against him, pending the outcome of police investigations,” he said. According to Mapindani, police investigations are still continuing.

Speaking to Mirror, from his hospital bed, a survivor of the accident, Simon Mavikani, said commuters had lodged several complaints about the overloading, but the driver kept on ignoring them.

Mavikani claimed that bus and taxi operators in Giyani and Malamulele overload their vehicles in order to make a “quick buck”, compromising passengers’ safety in the process.
“When we complain about overloading, we are victimized and told not to use their ‘only means’ of transport again. We have also complained to the local traffic department, which promised to look into the matter, but nothing is happening,” he further acknowledged. He added that, they were pleading with the authorities to act now, before more lives are lost “or we will take the law into our own hands.”

On Monday, another bus from the very same bus company “Great North”, collided with a Coke truck, and 85 passengers were seriously injured. According to Insp Kedibone Mabatha of the Waterfall police, the accident occurred on the Louis Trichardt-Elim road at about 5:30. “About 65 of the passengers who were critically injured were taken to the nearby Elim Hospital. Others were then transferred to the Tshilidzini Hospital in Thohoyandou, as a result of the shortage of space,” he said.

Meanwhile, the spokesman for the department of roads and transport, Mr Boiki Tsedu, said that they would investigate the cause of the accidents and also make a follow-up on the allegations made by commuters.