Minister of Transport, S’bu Ndebele, watched his 24-year-old son tragically slip from a coma into death following a road accident during the treacherous Easter driving period. That was 18 years ago, but Ndebele still feels the pain of losing his son, Nhlakanipho. He is now calling for those who cause death on the roads to face murder charges.
Look, it’s absolutely insane that up to 14 000 people are killed on our roads per annum. Those figures are from 2009, and are apparently the last reliable statistics available. That, according to Bob Geldof logic, would mean that about 38 people are killed on the roads every day. I can’t stress enough how appalling that is. But saying that the road deaths are due to a speed limit that is too high is a bit of a silly statement for a transport minister to make. But that is what S’bu Ndebele wants to do.