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This weblog is a portal for news and items of general interest from the town of Aberdeen in the Camdeboo area of the Cacadu district of the Eastern Cape, South Africa. The weblog's overiding purpose is to publicise the town and promote tourism in the region.

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Tuesday, January 27, 2009

The Road Less Travelled!

A dark cloud is hanging over my small, home “dorpie” of Aberdeen following a a tragic event that occurred in the early hours of 14 January 2009.
I personally consider the N1 as the “Road of Death” and I'm sure many commuters regularly travelling this route will concur with me that this is the road to hell. I used to travel the very same road from Aberdeen to Cape Town every festive season for greener pastures. For the past ten years I honestly felt so relaxed when travelling with these very same taxis from our small “dorpie” of Aberdeen and I know every loyal citizen from the Camdeboo felt very safe and relaxed with our taxi operators. I always used to get worried when I only saw taxis from the then Transkei and Ciskei, travelling at very high speeds, especially during the festive season and over the Easter weekend.
I was preparing myself to go work whilst listening to the news on a local radio station in Cape Town. A taxi travelling from Aberdeen to Cape Town had a tyre blow-out at 2:45am just 3km from the Huguenot Tunnel – between the tollgate and the Paarl off-ramp, causing the driver to lose control and the vehicle to overturn. Five people lost their lives and 17, including 6 children, were injured.
Provincial Traffic Inspector Gaythen Cornelius said one of the children was seriously injured. Some patients were taken to Tygerberg, Paarl and Stellenbosch hospitals. I personally spoke to Captain John Waterhouse of Paarl police station. The scene was cleared by 6am and the road remained closed for a few hours. According to Captain Waterhouse, the taxi was completely written off.
I'm personally heart broken by this terrible accident but we can't blame God for what happened - it's His will. My suggestion - and I honestly mean this – is that the taxi owners need to slaughter a goat at the very same spot were the accident occurred, pray to the Creator and throw fresh cow dung; thereby chasing away the evil spirit from that road. This is based on the teachings of the great Sangoma Sanuse Crado Mutwa. I further urge our local authorities, churches and spiritual healers to embark upon spiritual cleansing of the N1 and N9. May their souls rest in peace.

Article By: Lulamile Klassen