THE elder brother of the late 13-year-old Angela Maiba, the Windhoek Gymnasium Private School pupil who lost her life in a bus accident outside Mariental, described his sister as precious.
Maiba and fellow Grade 7 pupil Jacques Venter (13) died while on a school trip to southern Namibia when their 33-year-old bus driver, who was allegedly intoxicated, lost control of the bus on Sunday morning.
could not get in touch with Venter’s family yesterday.
Messages of condolence have been pouring in on social media from sympathisers to the affected families since the tragedy on Sunday.
Police say the two died at the scene while several other pupils have been injured. The driver has since been arrested.
The Hardap police crime investigations coordinator, deputy commissioner Eric Clay, said the driver, who tested positive for alcohol after the accident, faces culpable homicide, reckless and negligent driving, as well as drunk driving charges.
Angela’s brother, Faith Maiba, in a short interview with at the family home in Olympia recounted his time with his younger sibling.
He said he was six-years-old when she was born, and that she grew up to be a vegetarian, a good swimmer, top of her class pupil, whose dream was initially to become a veterinarian before changing to neurosurgeon.
“She loved animals, and she got a dog when she was 11. She also had a violin, but she never got to learn to play it,” an emotional Faith said.
Faith has five siblings, with Angela being the third-born.
“When she was born, I was so excited because I was the last-born at the time, and I was really so happy to have someone else around,” he said while struggling not to cry at the memories.
He said she knew how to engage with everyone, and loved the Bible as well as sharing the story of Jesus with her classmates and friends.
“She was really precious. She cared about everyone, and would feel sad sometimes when people would not listen to her talk about the Bible. Angela was also doubtful of herself sometimes, and would push herself to the limit to achieve what she needed do,” said Faith, citing the example of how she had to learn Afrikaans in a short period when she was enrolled at the Windhoek Gymnasium Private School.
The Maiba home was filled with mourners and well-wishers as well as family, friends and relatives who came to offer their condolences yesterday.
A photo of Angela was placed with burning candles in the living room where the mourners gathered.
Hymns were sung, and silence reigned in-between as mourners shed tears.
Clay said the bodies of the two deceased pupils were trapped in the wreckage, and jaws of life were used to remove them.
Clay said a total of 65 Grade 7 pupils were travelling in the Sunshine Tours bus when it overturned about 30 kilometres south of Kalkrand on the B1 highway around 09h00 on Sunday.
The pupils were on a school trip to the Orange River.
He added that other pupils sustained slight to minor injuries, and were taken to the Mariental State Hospital for medical treatment.
Windhoek Gymnasium Private School managing director Colette Rieckert released a statement on their Facebook page on Sunday, where she said the injured pupils were taken to hospital, while transport had been arranged to fetch the others and return them to Windhoek.
“We are shocked and saddened by this tragedy, and are doing everything we can to assist and support pupils, staff and families,” she wrote.
Rieckert further stated that they are not taking the allegations that the driver was intoxicated lightly.
“Curro [Holdings – the company that owns the school] views these allegations in an extremely serious light, and will leave no stone unturned to assist the police in their investigation,” Rieckert said.
She added: “Curro Holdings is clear that the safety of our learners and staff is our top priority, and as such take every possible measure to ensure the strictest safety standards are applied and adhered to at all times.”
An eyewitness on Sunday told that six pupils, who sustained serious injuries, were rushed to the Lady Pohamba Private Hospital in Windhoek.
luqman@namibian.com.na
