TRIBUTE BY THE GAUTENG EDUCATION, SPORT, ARTS, CULTURE AND RECREATION MEC MATOME CHILOANE AT THE MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR THE 14 LEARNERS WHO TRAGICALLY LOST THEIR LIVES IN THE VANDERBIJLPARK SCHOLAR TRANSPORT ACCIDENT.

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Saul Tsotetsi Sports Ground, Sebokeng

Programme Director

Bereaved families

Gauteng Premier, Mr Panyaza Lesufi

Ministers and Deputy Ministers present

Members of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature

Mayoys, Members of the Mayoral Committees and Councillors

Heads of Department and Senior Government Officials

Members of School Governing Bodies

Learner Representative Councils and learner formations

Union leaders in their different formations

Principals, educators, and learners

Religious and community leaders

Distinguished guests

Fellow mourners

Dumelang. Sanibonani. 

1. Programme Director, I stand before you today with a heart that is completely shattered. There are moments in life when words fail us, when the vocabulary of human language simply cannot capture the depth of our pain. This is one of those moments. 
2. On Monday, 19 January 2026, at approximately seven o’clock in the morning, fourteen children left their homes to go to school, they probably even kissed their guardians and mothers goodbye. They waved to their fathers. They teased their siblings. They carried their school bags filled with books, lunch boxes, and dreams. They climbed into a scholar transport vehicle on their way to various schools across Vanderbijlpark, excited for another day of learning, another day of friendship, another day of life. But fate had other plans, they never made it to school.
3. On Fred Droste Road, their scholar transport vehicle collided with a side tipper truck. Eleven of our children were certified dead at the scene. In the days that followed, three more succumbed to their injuries in hospital, the last two passing in the early hours of Thursday morning. Fourteen children. Gone.
4. Programme Director, 

When Premier Lesufi and I arrived at that scene on Monday morning, what we witnessed will haunt us for the rest of our lives. The wreckage. The silence. The small school shoes scattered on the side of the road. The lunch boxes that would never be opened. We stood there, two grown men, representatives of government, and we wept. We wept because there is no amount of words, no policies, no speeches that can make sense of such a devastation.

• To the families seated before me today, I see you. I see the mothers whose arms are now empty. I see the fathers trying to be strong while breaking inside. I see the grandparents who have outlived their grandchildren, a pain that defies the natural order of life. I see the siblings who have lost playmates, protectors, and best friends. I see you, and I bow before your grief.
• On behalf of the Gauteng Provincial Government, the Department of Education, Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation, and the people of this province, I offer you our deepest, most sincere condolences. We mourn with you. We weep with you. And we commit to walking this painful journey beside you.
• Programme Director, allow me to speak their names into the record of history, for in speaking their names, we declare that they lived, they mattered, and they will never be forgotten.
• Buhle Radebe, Grade 11, Hoërskool Vanderbijlpark. A young woman on the verge of matric, preparing to write her future into existence.
• Bokamoso Mokhobo, Grade 8, Hoërskool Vanderbijlpark. Her name means “the future,” and indeed, she represented our future.
• Sibongile Madonsela, Grade 10, Hoërskool Vanderbijlpark. Her name means “we are grateful,” and we are indeed eternally grateful for the time we had with her.
• Leano Moiloa, Grade 8, Vaal High School. A young girl with plans and purpose, her name meaning “plan” or “intention.”
• Lesego Sefatsa, Grade 2, Oakwood Primary School. Just seven years old, with a lifetime of possibilities stretching before her.
• Letlotlo Katlego Makwe, Grade 2, Vaal Triangle Primary School. Her name means “treasure,” and he was indeed a precious treasure to her family.
• Ofentse Jayden Vinger, Grade 1, Oliver Lodge Primary School. He had barely begun his educational journey. His whole life stretched before him like an unwritten book.
• Lindokuhle Mabaso, Grade 5, Noordhoek Primary School. A child in the middle of her primary school years, growing and learning every single day.
• Pheello Motaung, Grade 11, El-Shaddai Christian School. Another matriculant-in-waiting, another future leader lost to us.
• Puleng Maphalla, Grade 11, El-Shaddai Christian School. Her name means “rain,” the rain that nourishes the earth, now returned to the heavens.
• Naledi Motsapi, Grade 10, El-Shaddai Christian School. A star, as her name declares, now shining eternally from above.
• Bohlale Lekekela, Grade 1, El-Shaddai Christian School. Six years old. Six. She should have had decades of life, love, and laughter ahead of her.
• Thato Moetji and Sagwadi Mathe, both from Hoërskool Vanderbijlpark.  These are the learners who succumbed to their injuries yesterday. Fourteen learners with names, with families, with futures that were stolen from them in an instant. Fourteen seats in classrooms that will remain empty. Fourteen dreams that will never be realized

Fourteen lives stolen from us. Fourteen empty chairs in classrooms across this community. Fourteen beds that will never be slept in again. Fourteen school uniforms hanging in cupboards, never to be worn. Fourteen futures, stolen in an instant.

• Programme Director, from our youngest in Grade 1 to those preparing for matric in Grade 11, this tragedy spared no age. From Hoërskool Vanderbijlpark to Vaal High School, from Oakwood Primary to Oliver Lodge Primary, from Vaal Triangle Primary to Noordhoek Primary, and El-Shaddai Christian School, this tragedy spared no school. Seven schools. Fourteen families. One community now united in unbearable grief.
• The book of Jeremiah, Chapter 31, Verse 15 speaks of a moment such as this: “A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.” Today, we are Rachel. Today, Sebokeng is Rachel. Today, Vanderbijlpark is Rachel. Today, the Vaal is Rachel. Today Gauteng and South Africa is Rachel. We weep for our children, and we refuse to be comforted because they are no more.
• But even in the depths of our despair, we must cling to faith. Psalm 34, Verse 18 reminds us that: “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Families, you are brokenhearted and crushed today. But God is close to you. He has not abandoned you. He weeps with you. The book of Matthew, Chapter 5, Verse 4 offers us this promise: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” I pray that comfort finds you. Not today, perhaps not tomorrow, but in God’s time. May the memories of your children become a source of peace rather than pain. May the love they gave you sustain you through the darkest nights that lie ahead.
• Programme Director, 

I have spoken of grief. I have spoken of faith. Now I want to speak of accountability. Fourteen children are no more. Let that number settle into our consciousness. Fourteen children who should be alive today. Fourteen children who should be in their classrooms right now, at this very moment. Fourteen children who should be laughing and playing and dreaming and planning their futures. They are gone because someone was reckless with their lives.

1. The twenty-two-year-old driver of that scholar transport vehicle now faces 14 counts of murder and charges of reckless and negligent driving. He has appeared before the Vanderbijlpark Magistrate’s Court. The wheels of justice have begun to turn. We will allow the law to take its course, and we will not interfere with judicial processes. But let me be absolutely clear: there must be consequences. There must be accountability. The blood of these fourteen children cries out for justice, and justice they shall have.
2. But Programme Director, this tragedy did not occur in isolation. It occurred within a system. A scholar transport system that has for too long operated in the shadows. A system with inadequate oversight. A system with insufficient regulation and without meaningful accountability. That system failed these fourteen children. That system failed these fourteen families and this system must change. To the scholar transport operators across this province, hear me clearly today. Hear me and understand that I am not speaking empty words. The era of recklessness is over. The era of cutting corners is over. The era of putting profits before the safety of our children is over.
3. When a parent places their child in your vehicle each morning, they are not handing you a piece of cargo. They are entrusting you with the most precious asset in their lives. They are trusting you to deliver their child safely to school and to return them safely home. That trust is sacred and it is not to be violated. It is not to be betrayed. I have seen the reports. I know what happens on our roads. Overloaded vehicles packed beyond capacity. Unlicensed drivers who have no business transporting children. Unroadworthy vehicles that should have been taken off the road years ago. Drivers who speed. Drivers who ignore traffic signals. Drivers who take reckless chances with children’s lives because they are running late or trying to make extra trips. This culture of impunity ends now.
4. As the Gauteng Department of Education, working alongside the Department of Transport, law enforcement agencies, and traffic authorities, we are instituting immediate and comprehensive measures. Every scholar transport vehicle operating in this province will be subjected to rigorous safety inspections. Every driver will have their license verified. Every operator will demonstrate compliance with safety standards. And those who fail to meet these standards will be removed from the system. No negotiations. No exceptions. No excuses. 
5. To the parents and communities of Gauteng, I call upon you to be our partners in this fight. Know who is transporting your children. Verify their credentials. Report violations when you see them. Do not accept substandard service simply because it is convenient or affordable. Your child’s life is not a bargain to be negotiated. Your child’s safety is not a luxury. It is a right.
6. To the scholar transport operators who do things correctly, who maintain their vehicles properly, who employ licensed drivers, who drive responsibly, who treat their young passengers with the care they deserve, I salute you. You are valuable partners in the education of our children. But to those who cut corners, who gamble with lives, who view scholar transport as a quick scheme to make money rather than a profound responsibility, your time is up. We will find you. We will shut you down. And if lives are lost because of your negligence, you will face the full might of the law.
7. Programme Director, as I draw to a close, I return my attention to these fourteen families. The road ahead will be the most difficult journey you have ever walked. There will be mornings when you wake up and, for a brief, merciful moment, you will forget. You will call out their names for breakfast. You will check if they have done their homework. Then reality will crash upon you like a wave, and the pain will be fresh again.
8. There will be birthdays that pass in silence. School terms that begin without them. Prize-giving ceremonies where their names will not be called. Matric farewells they will never attend. Graduations that will never happen. Wedding days you will never witness. Grandchildren you will never hold. This is the cruel arithmetic of loss, and I wish I could take it from you. I cannot, but I can promise you this: you will not walk this road alone.
9. The Gauteng Department of Education has deployed psychosocial support teams to all affected families and schools. We will remain present in this community for as long as you need us. Please make use of these services because grief is not a burden you should carry in isolation.

To the learners who have lost classmates, friends, and in some cases, siblings, we see your pain. It is okay to cry. It is okay to be angry. It is okay to not be okay. Lean on your teachers. Lean on your counsellors. Lean on your families. Healing will come, but it takes time. Do not rush it.

To the educators and principals of the seven affected schools, thank you for the love you poured into these children. Thank you for being present for your school communities during these devastating days. Your strength is an inspiration.

• Programme Director, let me leave you with the words of Revelation, Chapter 21, Verse 4: “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Our fourteen children are now in that place. A place where there are no dangerous roads. A place where there are no reckless drivers. A place where there is no pain, no suffering, no fear. They are wrapped in the loving arms of our Creator, and they are at peace.
• Bana baka…. Buhle, Bokamoso, Sibongile, Leano, Lesego, Letlotlo, Ofentse, Lindokuhle, Pheello, Puleng, Naledi, Bohlale, Thato and Sagwadi in this journey to eternity: You were our children. You were our learners. You were our future. And though you have left us far too soon, you will never be forgotten.

Robalang ka kgotso, 

Lalani ngoxolo bantwana bethu.

Rus in vrede, ons kinders.

You are loved. You will always be remembered. You are forever in our hearts.

To the families, may the God of all comfort hold you in the palm of His hand. May His peace, which surpasses all human understanding, guard your hearts and minds in the difficult days ahead.

Ke a leboga.

Ngiyabonga.

Baie dankie.

I thank you.

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