Africa-Press – South-Africa. The brother of the man who died after a taxi fell on him and trapped him during this week’s explosion in the Joburg CBD, said their family back in Malawi still refuse to believe it when told of his death.
Joseph Dumisane, 34, was from Chikwawa, Malawi and worked as a street trader, selling shoes on the corner of Loveday and Lilian Ngoyi Streets.
He was buried under a minibus taxi which had been overturned by the gas explosion that left 48 people injured and hospitalised.
Speaking to News24 on Saturday from the city centre, his brother Zikiel Paul as well as friends Allie Umali and Balaka, said they had tried calling Dumisane for six hours before learning of his passing from a police officer who answered his phone.
“We still can’t believe if this is true or not… we can’t believe our brother is gone. The family back home is waiting and doesn’t believe us when we tell them he is no longer with us. They keep calling,” said Paul.
According to Paul, Dumisane usually finished work at 18:00 and came home shortly after.
Paul said, “We kept trying to call him because he hadn’t come home. His phone kept on ringing until midnight. We then called again at 01:00 which was when the police officer told us that our brother had died. He said he was involved in the explosion.”
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Shocked and in disbelief, they continued calling Dumisane’s phone even after speaking to the police officer.
“The officer answered again and told us to come to the Hillbrow Mortuary to identify his body on Thursday morning,” he said.
Umali, Dumisane’s friend and roommate of 12 years, struggled to hold back tears as he remembered his friend.
He added, “I remember calling him until I fell asleep. I woke up mid-morning and touched his bed, but he was not there. The officer told me he had died some hours ago. I have known him for 12 years. Now, I don’t know what to do. I can’t even talk without crying. Where would I go – he was my family and loved me so much.”
Balaka said he had known Dumisane for five years and described him as a peace-loving person.
He said the trio were trying to cover the costs of repatriating Dumisane’s body to their family home for burial.
“We are busy putting money together to send him home, but we are struggling. Some of our friends are trying to organise transportation to Malawi. We will also contribute some money so that he is buried at home,” he said.
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