Cape Town’s renowned sangoma, Mavuso Gqola, is counting his blessings after a near-fatal accident left him with serious injuries and facing significant financial hardship.
The incident, which occurred on Monday, 2 November, involved a collision between his bakkie and a speeding taxi. Already wheelchair-bound from a previous incident, the accident resulted in both of his legs being broken, leaving him in considerable pain and severely limiting his mobility.
The accident occurred while Mr Gqola was returning from a masikandi festival. "On the 2nd of November, I was returning from a masikandi festival when an Iveco taxi crashed into my Isuzu bakkie. I injured my head, and I was bleeding. I was taken to the hospital and admitted for two days," he recounted.
The initial hospital stay did not reveal the full extent of his injuries. "I stayed two days in hospital and didn’t know that my legs were also broken. The doctors didn’t even see that. It was only when I was at home that I realised that both of my legs were broken," he explained.
The accident has had a devastating impact on Mr Gqola’s life. His already limited mobility has been further compromised, creating significant challenges in his daily routine. The damage to his bakkie, his primary mode of transport, adds another layer of difficulty.
"I use a wheelchair and, as you know, it's not easy to go around and use a taxi, so it means I have to hire a vehicle. Whenever I want to go out, I use almost R1 000 because I need to pay for the hiring money and then put in fuel. If I were using my vehicle, I would just put petrol in for R200 and do what I needed. Things have been tough for me," he said, highlighting the substantial financial burden imposed by his inability to use his own vehicle.
Adding to his woes, the taxi driver responsible for the accident has vanished, leaving Mr Gqola to bear the costs of repairing his damaged bakkie. "The taxi owner told him the driver must fix his vehicle. However, quotations showed he needs R15 000 for repairs," Mr Gqola explained. The absence of the driver leaves him with a significant repair bill and no clear path to recovery.
"The driver is nowhere to be found, so I sit with a big problem that I can't fix right now," he added, expressing his frustration and helplessness in the face of the situation.
The lack of accountability from the taxi driver adds to the injustice of the situation, leaving Mr Gqola to navigate the complexities of his recovery and repair costs alone.
