Families wait two years for answers after 12 died in school crash
FOCHVILLE — More than two years after 11 children and their scholar transport driver died when their minibus overturned and caught fire near Fochville, the man accused of causing the crash is returning to court as families wait to learn whether the case will finally move forward.
Gert van Emmenis is expected to appear in the Fochville Magistrate’s Court on Monday on 12 counts of culpable homicide and a charge of reckless and negligent driving arising from the July 2024 crash. Monday’s proceedings are expected to deal with the outcome of representations made in the case.
The case has been postponed several times for further investigation, stretching the criminal proceedings beyond two years since the deaths of the children and driver.
According to the State’s case, Van Emmenis was driving a Ford Ranger on JB Marx Road in Fochville when it collided with the minibus transporting learners to school. The scholar transport vehicle overturned and caught fire.
Eleven children, all younger than 14, and minibus driver Nkosinathi Maphukade died. The severity of the fire meant the children had to be identified through DNA testing.
The learners attended Rocklands Primary School and Laerskool Blyvooruitsig in the Carletonville area. Among those killed were four children from the same family: Reneilwe, Sihle, Hlompho and Thato Hlalele.
Van Emmenis was arrested following the crash and later released on R20,000 bail. The State did not oppose his bail application, but the court imposed conditions requiring him to surrender his passport and prohibiting him from interfering directly or indirectly with witnesses.
At the time of the crash, Gauteng education authorities said preliminary information indicated that the scholar transport vehicle had been struck from behind by a bakkie before overturning and catching fire. The precise circumstances of the collision form part of the criminal case and have not yet been determined by a court.
The deaths prompted widespread concern about learner transport safety in Gauteng, an issue that has remained under scrutiny as other deadly crashes involving children travelling to school have occurred in the province.
Earlier this year, another scholar transport crash in Vanderbijlpark killed learners after a minibus collided with a truck on the Golden Highway. That case has resulted in separate criminal proceedings against the driver and again placed the safety of vehicles carrying schoolchildren under national attention.
For the Fochville families, however, Monday’s proceedings return attention to a case that has remained unresolved since July 2024.
Van Emmenis has not been convicted of the charges against him and remains presumed innocent unless proven guilty. The outcome of the representations before the court is expected to determine the next stage of proceedings in a case that has already returned to court several times without reaching trial.
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