Family, friends and loved ones of three pupils who lost their lives in a scholar transport crash in Vanderbijlpark gathered at the Saul Tsotetsi Multipurpose Centre in Sebokeng to bid them a painful farewell.
The 6-year-old Ofentse Jayden Raymond Vinger who was in Grade 1, 13-year-old Bokamoso Mokhobo who recently started Grade 8 and 16-year-old Thato Moetji who was a matric learner, were remembered in a joint funeral in Gauteng.
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi, Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities Sindisiwe Chikunga, Deputy Minister of Transport Mkhuleko Hlengwa, Gauteng MEC for Transport and Logistics Kedibone Diale-Tlabela, Gauteng MEC for Education Matome Chiloane and Sedibeng District Municipality Executive Mayor Lerato Maloka; were all among the mourners paying their last respects.
The tragic accident occurred on Monday morning, January 19 at around 7 am in Vanderbijlpark, where a minibus taxi collided with a truck claiming the lives of 14 learners.
The taxi driver, Ayanda Dludla, appeared in the local magistrate’s court on Thursday on several charges, including 14 counts of murder. Preliminary investigations indicate that the minibus driver attempted to overtake a vehicle in front of him and did not notice an oncoming truck, resulting in a head-on collision.
[HAPPENING NOW]: We are currently at the Saul Tsotetsi Multipurpose Centre in Sebokeng for the Joint Funeral Service of the late Vanderbijlpark learners. Today, we bid a painful farewell to three young lives cut short: 6-year-old Ofentse Jayden Raymond Vinger, a Grade 1 learner… pic.twitter.com/RNKVvWqkkq
— Gauteng Department of Education (@EducationGP1) January 25, 2026
[UNDERWAY]: Funeral service for the learners who tragically lost their lives in a scholar transport accident on Monday, 19 January 2026, in Vanderbijlpark. pic.twitter.com/Vx0M8Q6TZF
— Gauteng Department of Education (@EducationGP1) January 25, 2026
X (formerly Twitter) users weighed in:
You’re all not gonna believe this. The owner is the deputy chair of Gauteng Education Transport Services and a Pastor!!!! https://t.co/mHee3pcVJb pic.twitter.com/i3tviQR4NI
— Tholiso N Lebelo (@TholisoN) January 25, 2026
Vanderbijlpark crash: Funeral
Joint funeral Service for Vanderbijlpark leaners who died in a scholar transport crash pic.twitter.com/CA7W4BAgQb
— News Live SA (@newslivesa) January 25, 2026
#VaalCrash learners attending the mass funeral are inconsolable. #eNCA pic.twitter.com/NgNso2yY7q
— Silindelo Sebata (@Sli_Masikane) January 25, 2026
Also see: Sbahle Mzizi pens heartfelt condolence message after Vaal accident
