NEWS & ANALYSIS

"If only they had listened!" - Daily Sun

"These young lives ended in a burning wreck with Richard Henyekane but it could have been avoided" - front page lead, April 10 2015

Daily Sun (April 10 2015) - SPEAKING TO Daily Sun yesterday, the grieving parents of Ayanda and Limpho said they were always worried about their girls.

Although the girls were often told they partied too much, they always ignored the warnings.

IF ONLY THEY HAD LISTENED TO THEIR PARENTS THEY MAY HAVE BEEN ALIVE TODAY, THEY SAID.

Ayanda Motete (19) and Limpho Moloi (18) are two of the girls who died in the car driven by Richard Henyekane (31) when it crashed and burst into flames.

A third girl, Nthabiseng Motsoetsoe (20) and Henyekane's friend Mzadia Mofokeng (29), also died in the crash.

They were coming back from a party in QwaQwa in the early hours of Tuesday morning when their VW Cross Polo crashed into a truck.

Marabele Moloi (55), Limpho's mother, said her daughter was in grade 10.

"Her problem was she liked to party and go to clubs. We told her to focus on her studies but she refused to listen," said the tearful mum.

"On Saturday she said she was going to see a friend and would be back soon. When it got late we thought she had gone clubbing, as usual."

Marabele said the local tavern owner even banished her from his tavern. "He was worried about Limpho's future, but this did not change my daughter's behaviour," said Marabele.

Ayanda's grandmother, Rose Motete (60) said Ayanda also liked to go clubbing, especially on weekends.

"On the day of the accident Ayanda left without saying where she was going," said Rose.

She said Ayanda had just completed her N6 marketing diploma at Maluti FET College.

"It broke my heart when I learned from the cops that she had died. If she has listened to my advice when we told her to stop partying, maybe she would be still alive."

Nthabiseng Motsoetsoe's father, Mosiuwa Tseki, told Daily Sun they expected so much from her.

"I don't know what to say. My child was very talented, particularly at sport.

"She was a quiet child and we are very hurt that now she is no more," said Mosiuwa.

A memorial service for Richard was held at the Free State Stars offices in Bethlehem yesterday.

See the Daily Sun's new website for more on this and other stories....

 

The Daily Sun is South Africa's largest daily newspaper with an average circulation of 274 165 (Audit Bureau of Circulations 2nd Quarter 2014) and a readership of 5.7m (as per AMPS 2012ab). Its Facebook page can be accessed here. It can be followed on Twitter here. To find about advertising on the Daily Sun click here.

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