
FILE PHOTO: President Cyril Ramaphosa with the late mayor of the City of Johannesburg, Jolidee Matongo who died in a car accident on Saturday night. PICTURE: ANC Greater Johannesburg/Facebook
JOHANNESBURG: City of Johannesburg losses yet another mayor after a tragic car accident kills the newly elected mayor.
The mayor, Mr Jodilee Matongo had spent the day with the president, Mr Cyril Ramphosa in Soweto campaigning for the November elections and listening to the demands of the people.
He visited areas that have been affected by the shortage of electricity and he was discussing the plan of action with citizens.
The mayor, who was travelling with his two protectors, was certified dead at the crash scene along the Golden Highway near Lenasia South, less than 5km from his home.
Mr Matongo’s vehicle collided with another as it was trying to avoid hitting an unidentified pedestrian who “ran onto the road”, according to a police accident report.
“The driver of the BMW [X5] tried to avoid the pedestrian and collided with a silver Nissan NP 200,” the report stated.
The driver of the bakkie died at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto after succumbing to his injuries while Mr Matongo’s protectors were airlifted to Milpark Hospital from the scene
The area where the accident took place is a high accident zone and has no street lights.
Mr Matongo, 46, died on Saturday evening, just five weeks after he was appointed as mayor, replacing his Soweto homeboy Mr Geoffrey Makhubo who had succumbed to Covid-19 complications.
The mayor was a politician and a member of the mayoral committee for finance before he was elected as the mayor of the City of Johannesburg.
Mr Matongo’s close friend and spokesman for the family, Mr Muzikayise Ndlovu, said Mr Matongo was being driven to his home where he was going to refresh and prepare for a trip to KwaZulu-Natal for a family ceremony.
“He [Mr Matongo] had actually finished doing work for the ANC and was coming here to change so that he could take a trip to KZN as we were preparing for other festivities and ceremonies of the family,” Mr Ndlovu said.
Mr Ndlovu described Mr Matongo as a very accessible friend who often gave him sound advice.
“Those who knew Jolidee know that he was a genuine, down-to-earth and selfless person. As a friend, he was one of those people I could confide in and I knew that if I had a problem about anything I could go to him and he would give me sound advice,” Mr Ndlovu said.
Mr Ndlovu said the family would wait for the City of Joburg before finalising preparations for his funeral.
He has been described by the Gauteng premier as a committed and selfless activist who dedicated his time to serving the people of Johannesburg.