'I've never felt so much pain': pastor loses wife a week after their wedding

A week of bliss turned into a life of sorrow for a 28-year-old East Rand pastor Phillip Mavundla, who lost his wife, Pretty Mavundla, 26, in a car accident a week after their wedding in December 2023.

The young couple was on their way back from a fellow churchgoer's wedding in Mpumalanga when tragedy struck. Mavundla's mother and two other relatives were also in the car, but Pretty was the only person who died.

“On our way home, I was driving and we stopped at a filling station. I got out of the car and when I came back, Pretty was sitting in the driver's seat. She reminded me I had promised her she could drive. So I allowed her to drive,” Mavundla recounted, his voice thick with grief.

As they drove, a truck behind them swerved dangerously into their lane.

“I tried to alert her and when she tried to avoid the truck, unfortunately, she lost control of the car and hit another truck head-on.”

Mavundla described the harrowing moment and the helpless feeling of watching his wife's life slip away while holding her in his arms before the paramedics arrived.

“I held her in my arms and made sure her head [stayed upright] as we were trapped inside the car. I was able to move, but she wasn't. I tried to keep her awake and talked to her. She tried to speak, but couldn't. In that moment, I couldn't think of anything else; I was so afraid of losing her. I never thought I would,” he said.

Before taking her last breath, Pretty said something that has stuck with him to this day.

“She said, 'Baby, ngiyabonga [thank you]'. That was the only thing she could say as she couldn't speak properly.”

He held her in his arms until the paramedics came, thinking Pretty was still alive. When the paramedics arrived, they moved him away. “I think they knew something was wrong,” he said.

“After a few minutes, I heard a loud cry and I quickly ran to see what was happening. When I got there, I saw Pretty being covered with a silver emergency blanket. That's when they explained they had tried everything to save her, but they couldn't.

“I immediately fell down; I didn't know what to do. I think I started crying five minutes after hearing the news; that's when it hit me. I've never felt such pain in my life.”

“This is not easy,” he said after a long pause.

Pretty was known for her lively personality, her kind heart and her unwavering faith. Her sudden passing left a void in Mavundla's life that he believes will be impossible to fill.

“I had a lot of plans with her. We were planning to have our first child. Life without her has been difficult. I wake up to a dream of her every day. Life has not been easy, even though I'm receiving support from family and friends.”

The couple grew up together and attended church. Their relationship started when they were a flower girl and a page boy during Mavundla's parents' wedding in 2002, growing into friendship and then a romantic relationship in 2015.

“I always knew she was the one. I always knew that this was the person I wanted to be with. I miss her smile, jokes, humility and care towards me. My life is incomplete without her,” said Mavundla.

TimesLIVE