A night-time collision between a packed minibus taxi and a pick-up truck has killed 15 people in rural South Africa, a transport official said on Sunday.
Five people were in hospital with serious injuries after the crash at around midnight on Saturday to Sunday near the Eastern Cape town of Maqoma, about 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) south of Johannesburg, provincial transport spokesman Unathi Binqose official told broadcaster Newzroom Afrika.
The drivers of both vehicles were among the dead and an inquest would be opened to determine what happened, Binqose said.
The victims included 13 passengers in the minibus, which was reportedly travelling from the town of Qonce to Cape Town, a journey of nearly 1,000 kilometres.
South Africa has a sophisticated and busy road network. It also has a high rate of road deaths, blamed mostly on speeding, reckless driving and unroadworthy vehicles.
Road accidents claimed more than 11,800 lives in 2023, with pedestrians making up around 45 percent of the victims, according to the latest data from the Road Traffic Management Corporation.
Meanwhile, the mother of a South African girl, who disappeared aged six more than a year ago, has been convicted of kidnapping and trafficking her daughter.
Kelly Smith, her boyfriend Jacquen Appollis and their friend Steveno van Rhyn were arrested after Smith’s daughter, Joshlin, went missing from outside her home in Saldanha Bay, near Cape Town, in February last year.
Appollis and Van Rhyn were also found guilty on Friday of kidnapping and trafficking Joshlin. All three had previously pleaded not guilty to to these charges.
Joshlin’s disappearance sent shockwaves across South Africa and despite a highly publicised search for her, she is yet to be found.
During the trial, held in March, prosecutors accused Smith of having “sold, delivered or exchanged” Joshlin and then lied about her disappearance.
Smith wiped tears from her eyes when the guilty verdict was read, while Van Rhyn inexplicably broke into a smile.
Applause rippled through the packed courtroom and some onlookers began to cry.
Smith’s mother was in attendance and after the hearing finished, she said she was “angry” with her daughter and did not want to see her.
“She must tell me where my grandchild is,” Amanda Daniels-Smith told reporters.
Smith, Van Rhyn and Appollis could face life in prison – a date for sentencing is yet to be set.
In a statement following the judgment, the police said they would continue in their search for Joshlin.
The trial was held in Saldanha’s Multipurpose Centre to “ensure the community has access” to proceedings, Judge Nathan Erasmus, who presided over the case, said previously.
Ahead of the verdict, nearby roads had been closed, while police officers were deployed in and around the centre.
The trial captivated South Africa, with witnesses and prosecutors making a number of shocking allegations.
The most explosive came from Lourentia Lombaard, a friend and neighbour of Smith who turned state witness.
Ms Lombaard alleged that Smith told her she had done “something silly” and sold Joshlin to a traditional healer, known in South Africa as a “sangoma”.
The “person who [allegedly took] Joshlin wanted her for her eyes and skin”, Ms Lombaard told the court.
A local pastor testified that in 2023, he had heard Smith – a mother of three – talk of selling her children for 20,000 rand ($1,100; £850) each, though she had said she was willing to accept a lower figure of $275.
Joshlin’s teacher then alleged in court that Smith had told her during the search that her daughter was already “on a ship, inside a container, and they were on the way to West Africa”.
Smith’s lawyer, Rinesh Sivnarain, cast doubt on these allegations. He cited inconsistencies – recognised by the prosecution – in Ms Lombaard’s remarks and suggested she was an “opportunist”.
Smith, Appollis and Van Rhyn chose not to call any witnesses in their defence and did not take the stand during the trial.
Sangomas are legally recognised in South Africa under the Traditional Health Practitioners Act of 2007, alongside herbalists, traditional birth attendants and traditional surgeons.
Some charlatans are involved in unscrupulous traditional so-called cures, and have been known to sell good luck charms that involve body parts.
The allegation that Smith had discussed selling her daughter and had issues with drugs has prompted conversations about the vulnerability of children, particularly in South Africa’s poor communities.
In Joshlin’s community of Middelpos, parents have been telling local media that more than a year after the young girl’s disappearance, they are still concerned for their own children’s safety.
By Agencies
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