A key witness who was in the taxi that caused the deaths of two Mitchells Plain sisters has come forward after reading about the story in the Daily Voice.
Little Nurah, 2, and Nishaat Thomas, 6, lost their lives in March after an unlicensed taxi driver jumped a red robot on the corner of Merrydale Ave and Wespoort Drive in Portlands and slammed into their father’s Opel Corsa.
Nishaat was flung out of the car and died on impact, while Nurah passed away hours later in hospital.
Two weeks after the incident, taxi driver Likhona Mgidi, 22, was arrested and appeared in the Mitchells Plain Magistrate’s Court on charges of culpable homicide, and he was later released on bail of R3000.
Up until his last court appearance last week, there were no witnesses.
But after reading the article last week, a man contacted the girls’ mother Raihaana on Facebook.
According to the man, he was sitting in the front seat when the incident happened.
He says: “I was sitting in front. I watched how the robot turned amber and the driver started picking up speed, when it turned red, he accelerated even more and went over the robots, that’s when the impact happened.
“We tried to give our statements on the scene but the authorities took the driver to one side and said they wouldn’t need our statements.
“I always thought about the accident, how the girl was lying in the road and the father in a state while his other child was in the car, up until I bought the Daily Voice and saw the article.”
The witness says he is willing to take the stand in court and testify, adding: “I don’t think I would’ve known who to contact if I didn’t see the article.”
Private investigator Desmond Finnis has since taken his statement, which Finnis said he will submit in order to ask the court to deny the suspect’s plea agreement and for the matter to be put on trial.
Finnis says: “This is a breakthrough especially for the State, because now there is a key witness. I now believe [the driver] can also get the maximum sentence.”
Raihaana says this is exactly what she has been praying for: “I cried when I received the message, I am just so overwhelmed.”
tracy-lynn.ruiters@inl.co.za