'Jub Jub robbed me of my son'
2010-03-10 10:16
Johannesburg - He loved him and was a big fan of his music, but now this musician had robbed them of their little boy, said a grieving Joyce Ntoga, aunt of Prince Mahube, 17, outside the Kliptown mortuary in Soweto, moments after she and other family members identified Prince's body.
Prince, Phumelelo Masemelo, 16, Mlugisi Cwayi, 17, and Andile Mthombeni, 19, died on Monday after musician Molemo Maarohanye, better known as Jub Jub and his friend Themba Tshabalala, drove their two Mini Coopers into the group of children.
The four friends died on the scene while two other schoolchildren, Fumani Mushanana, 17, and Frank Mlabo, 18, were seriously injured and taken to Chris Hani Baragwanath hospital.
One of the boys is currently in a coma.
Drag racing
Maarohanye - who had also been a contestant in Survivor SA: Santa Carolina - and Tshabalala were apparently drag racing when the accident happened.
Blood samples were taken to determine whether the men had used drugs.
Police were still waiting for the lab results, said police spokesperson Inspector Kay Makhubela.
According to metro police spokesperson inspector Edna Mamonyane, breathalyser tests showed that Tshabalala's blood alcohol levels were twice over the legal limit and Maarohanye's was under the legal limit.
Family, friends and bystanders reacted with shock and anger on Wednesday.
"He was such a clever boy and wanted to become an architect."
"He always told his mother: 'Give me only two years and I will change this little house of yours. Jub Jub robbed us of him and he loved Jub Jub so much," said Ntoga.
Prince's mother, Janette Mahube, was too shocked to talk to the media.
'The law has to take its course'
Moerkgomo Eddie Masemelo, Phumelelo's father, said Jub Jub had to think about what he had done.
"I won't say anything (about him). He has to know he robbed me of a son and I will never get him back. The law has to take its course," he said.
Phumelelo's sister, Alucia Kgwerang Sekgatume, 22, said she still couldn't believe her brother was gone.
"Thanks to Jub Jub he is no longer with us. He was a good boy and wanted to become a doctor," she said sadly.
According to Selina Dasheka, a family friend of Mlungisi's mother, Nonsandise Nancy Cwayi, she recognised her child's schoolbag at the accident scene and knew he was dead.
Shocked
"She started screaming and jumping and bit me when I wanted to hold her. She is still badly shocked," she said.
Gauteng Premier Nomvula Mokonyane, the Gauteng MEC for education, Barbara Creecy and the MEC for roads and transport, Bheki Nkosi, on Tuesday visited the families.
Maarohanye and Tshabalala will appear in the Protea Magistrate's Court on Wednesday on charges of culpable homicide, reckless or negligent driving and driving under the influence of drugs. Tshabalala will also be charged with drunken driving.