Ndumiso and Neo Mashaba lived life to the fullest and loved their children dearly, that is until their young lives were tragically cut short when a gas tanker exploded under a bridge in Boksburg on Christmas Eve killing 26 people and injuring many others.
Those who know the 25-year-old Ndumiso and his 22-year-old sweetheart Neo said the couple were inseparable and have left behind two children aged 3 and six months.
A relative of the couple Nelisiwe Masango described Neo as a tough and strong young mother who adored her two children.
“To be a wife at the age of 22 is a great responsibility she took on with pride and honour. Neo was passionate and full of life. Their children were the greatest pride of their lives and the love they shared,” she said.
Ndumiso on the other hand was a bright spark and there was nothing anyone could have done to dim his light, added Masango saying his boxing colleagues would attest to that.
“But to put it simply he lived life to the fullest. When he said he was going to do something he would put his mind to it. If he wanted to gain three extra kg on his arms that is exactly what he was going to do. He loved his children.
“I am telling everyone that knew Ndumi, he was a big muscular man. But it wasn’t all muscles, it was a heart as well until the very end. He carried the weight as much as he could unfortunately. As a boxer, I believe this was the biggest fight he was training for.
“In a conversation we had the night before was that he became the kind of man he always wanted to be. How he has so many plans for them [his children]. His six-month old baby
was the new love of his life and how his wife was everything he could have ever asked for and more,” she added.
