A policeman was killed instantly on Monday, along with five others, four of them his own family members, when his Opel SUV overturned. Three of the dead are children and three, adults.
Sergeant Mandlenkosi Caga, 43, a court orderly at Mitchell’s Plain Magistrate’s Court in Cape Town, was killed outside Grahamstown en route to Cape Town from his family home in Mdantsane after the Easter holiday.
The horrific accident also claimed the lives of three of Caga’s children – Hlumelo, 7, Ahlumile, 4 and Sisipho, 12. Bongiwe, 16, is fighting for her life at St George’s Hospital in Port Elizabeth with severe injuries. Their mother Phumza, has broken limbs but is stable, said Caga family spokesman and former East London mayor Sakhumzi Caga. The fifth victim was Caga’s brother Malibongwe, 45.
“Tragedy has struck the entire Caga family,” said an emotional Caga in a short telephone interview with the Daily Dispatch yesterday.
The SUV had eight occupants, according to Grahamstown police spokeswoman Captain Mali Govender. A sixth body is yet to be identified.
Late yesterday, Caga said: “It is difficult but we believe in God and he will be with us during this dark hour.”
Grahamstown police cluster commander Brigadier David Kanuka expressed his condolences. — malibongwed@dispatch.co.za