{"id":4887,"date":"2025-05-09T10:46:41","date_gmt":"2025-05-09T08:46:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hconline.co.za\/?p=4887"},"modified":"2025-05-09T10:46:41","modified_gmt":"2025-05-09T08:46:41","slug":"mk-party-demands-accountability-for-baby-mlondis-death-in-municipal-truck-tragedy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/mk-party-demands-accountability-for-baby-mlondis-death-in-municipal-truck-tragedy\/","title":{"rendered":"MK party demands accountability for baby Mlondi\u2019s death in municipal truck tragedy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

NOT FOR SENSETIVE READERS<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

MIDDELBURG \u2013<\/strong> Flashbacks of her grandson\u2019s lifeless, headless body lying on the street still haunt Sibongile Maseko.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overwhelmed by grief, she told Highveld Chronicle<\/em><\/strong> that the body of her three-year-old grandson, Mlondolozi, was buried without his head. His skull had been completely crushed by the rear wheels of a 30-ton refuse compactor truck belonging to the Steve Tshwete Local Municipality. The horrific accident took place on October 11, last year, instantly claiming the child\u2019s life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe scalp and brain were all squashed together on the ground. It was a horrifying sight,\u201d said Sibongile. \u201cAfter the burial, we thought we would hear that the driver had been suspended and that an investigation would be conducted, but none of that happened. The driver is still working as if he killed a dog. It\u2019s painful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To make matters worse, the same truck has allegedly been involved in two other serious incidents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On November 28, Alenda Magaga (34), a single mother of four from Tokologo in Mhluzi, was left permanently disabled after the truck reversed into her at the Mhluzi Dumping Site. Magaga, who earns a living collecting and selling waste, is now confined to a wheelchair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI fractured my hip and backbone. No one from the municipality came to see me \u2013 not during my hospital stay or after,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In another alleged incident from April 2023, Nhlanhla Sibanyoni from Newtown said her one-year-old son was run over by the same truck while playing outside. He survived, but sustained neck and head injuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With no accountability or justice for the three families, the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party in Mpumalanga has stepped in. On Wednesday, May 7, the party led a march to the Steve Tshwete Local Municipality, where it delivered a memorandum demanding answers and action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The memorandum, accepted by MMC for Public Safety and Security Joseph Ngubeni, calls for:<\/p>\n\n\n\n