A prominent businessman and taxi boss from Louis Trichardt, Mr Alex Ramashidzha, and his father, Mr Johannes Ramashidzha, were laid to rest at the Zamekomste cemetery last Saturday.

Alex (37) and his father Johannes Ramashidzha (68) died after the car they were travelling in collided with a Shosholoza Meyl passenger train at the Malherbe Street crossing in Louis Trichardt on Sunday, March 1. The accident occurred at 18:30 in the evening. All four people who were travelling in the Isuzu double-cab bakkie died on the scene.

Alex was a well-known motor mechanic and a taxi boss who also owned cross-country trucks. His father, Johannes Ramashidzha, was a well-known Kutama business man and also owned a butchery at Mara.

Johannes Ramashidzha was depicted by many villagers as a charismatic, disciplined and dedicated community leader who contributed towards the new political dispensation in the country. He is survived by 19 children and grandchildren. He was the second-born of the late Mr Tom Khangale Mahinhza and Mrs Makwarela Ramashidzha. He was born at Folovhodwe village, next to Getrusburg. The family later relocated to Zamekomste because of the tension between him and the former South African government.

The mayor of Makhado Municipality, Cllr Mavhungu Lerule, attended the funeral and expressed her condolences to the Ramashidzha family. She said what had happened affected the municipality as a whole. “The municipality has suffered a great loss,” she said.

The names of the other two passengers who were on board when the accident happened are still not known.