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
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
