“Help Bring Them Home”: Fundraising Begins After Crash Linked to Minister Motsoaledi's State Vehicle

• A Zimbabwean community group in Bela-Bela has launched a fundraising drive to repatriate the bodies of a mother and child killed in a tragic N1 highway incident
• The victims, identified as Beauty Shoperai and her one-year-old son, were struck by the health minister's vehicle after a devastating chain of events
• The emotional fundraiser needs at least R25,000 per person as the community rallies to bring the deceased home with dignity

LIMPOPO — A community is in mourning after a devastating highway tragedy claimed the lives of a mother and her one-year-old child in a heartbreaking chain of events along the N1 near Bela-Bela.

The Zimbabwean community group, called Bela- Bela Chema Group, is raising funds to help repatriate the bodies of a mother and her child who were killed in a tragic highway incident involving a vehicle linked to the driver of Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi on Saturday, 9 May 2026.

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Family of mother and child fatally struck by Dr Aaron Motsoaledi’s State vehicle breaks silence

Group says family needs help to repatriate the victims

The group that visited the grieving family following the devastating incident. In a video shared online by Eyewitness News, group member Confidence Queen Wabvuta explained that repatriating bodies to Zimbabwe costs around R25,000 per person, excluding additional paperwork and administrative expenses.

The victims have been identified as 37-year-old Beauty Shoperai and her one-year-old child, Paul Masunda Jnr. The pair died while attempting to cross the N1 highway near Bela-Bela in Limpopo.

Reports further indicate that Shoperai had been travelling with her husband, Paul Masunda, and their 14-year-old son. The family had stopped at an informal bus stop near the intersection connecting Bela-Bela and the N1 highway — a point commonly used by travellers heading towards Zimbabwe.

It is understood that shortly after Shoperai boarded a bus, she received a distressing call from her teenage son, informing her that her husband had allegedly been struck and killed by a vehicle while crossing the highway.

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Woman and toddler killed by health minister's state vehicle identified after tragic N1 crash

Devastated by the news, she reportedly disembarked from the bus and rushed back toward the scene. However, before she could reach her husband, she and her one-year-old child were struck by a ministerial vehicle linked to Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi.

The sequence of events has left the community and the wider public in shock, with many expressing disbelief at the scale of the tragedy and the multiple deaths within a single family in such a short space of time.

Authorities are continuing with investigations into the circumstances surrounding the fatal crash.

See video of the Bela Bela group talking about fundraising efforts:

Family of the mother and toddler speak out

In related news, the family of the mother and child who passed away after being struck by the official vehicle of Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi have spoken up about the tragedy. Charles Shoperai, the brother of the mother killed, said that his sister was a wonderful person who was social and got on with everyone. He also explained how important she was in the family, saying that she was the one who took care of their father. He also called on the minister and government to assist the family, saying that they didn’t have the money to repatriate her remains.

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Minister Motsoaledi’s vehicle involved in fatal Bela-Bela highway crash, mother and child killed

Two-year-old killed in N1 crash

Previously, Briefly News reported that a two-year-old was killed in a fatal collision on the N1-25 near Tobias on Friday, 19 December 2025. The crash happened shortly after midday when two vehicles collided head-on, triggering a multi-vehicle accident. Early findings suggest that unsafe overtaking and reckless driving may have contributed to the incident. Three people sustained injuries in the crash.

Source: Briefly News