It was a day of profound sorrow, heartache and pain, as families, friends and residents of Laudium, surrounding areas and indeed beyond, woke up to the heart-wrenching news of two young lives lost far too soon, early Monday morning (June 29). Social media platforms were beeping including the Laudium Sun’s Facebook Page, from around 5am, as news confirmed the tragic passing in a car accident, of two former Laudium residents; Meekaeel Adam (31 – son of Imraan Adam [Parabay] and Fatima Majid) and Uwais Gani (15- son of Noorie and Roekshana Gani). As the tragedy unfolded, distressing reports also surfaced that a third passenger, Rumanah Gani (23) the sister of Uwais was critical in hospital, after sustaining multiple injuries. It is believed that Rumanah and her younger brother Uwais, together with Meekaeel, watched the FIFA World Cup 2026 game between South Africa and Canda on Sunday night, which ended at around 11pm and then left the Gani home shortly after 1:00am (Monday morning), in a white BMW X7 (SUV), which Meekaeel was driving. All of a sudden, while driving on Wierda Road (M10), and not far from Meekaeel’s home in Celtic Manor, Raslouw, the BMW crashed…
Shattered hearts & a sea of tears as thousands bid farewell to 2 cherished sons
There were tears, there was sorrow, there was heartache and there was pain, lots of pain, as families, friends and residents of Laudium, surrounding areas and even beyond, received news of the devastating and tragic deaths of two beloved sons, early Monday morning (June 29).
Social media platforms were beeping including the Laudium Sun’s Facebook Page, from around 5am, as news confirmed the passing away, in a car accident, of two former Laudium residents; Meekaeel Adam (31 – son of Imraan Adam [Parabay] and Fatima Majid) and Uwais Gani (15- son of Noorie and Roekshana Gani).
To add to the pain, a third passenger, Rumanah Gani (23 – sister of Uwais) was critical in hospital, after sustaining multiple injuries.
According to reports received, Meekaeel was at the home of Rumanah in Eldoglen Estate (near Laudium) on Sunday night (June 28) to watch the much anticipated FIFA World Cup 2026 game between South Africa and Canada, which ended at around 11pm. It is believed that after chatting for a while, Rumanah and her younger brother Uwais, together with Meekaeel, left the house shortly after 1:00 am (Monday morning) in a white BMW X7 (SUV), which Meekaeel was driving. While driving on Wierda Road (M10) and not far from Meekaeel’s home in Celtic Manor on Baard Road, the BMW crashed, hitting a water canal ditch and capsizing many times, finally landing on its tyres several meters away from the road, into a vacant erf.
Nearby residents were awoken after hearing a huge crashing sound at around 1:15am.
The first resident to respond was DS Pretorius, who lives on a plot near Eldo Village, behind Wierda Road.
Road) from where the BMW veered off, crashed, hit a water canal ditch and capsized many times
DS told the Laudium Sun, “I heard this loud crashing sound and immediately knew that it was the sound of a car crashing, as there have been many accidents in the area previously. I immediately got up and drove down to Wierda Road, where I noticed the smashed BMW in the bush (nearest corner Baard Road). About 30 meters from the car, more towards the road, was a young woman on the ground and in the opposite direction of the car, about twenty 20 meters, a male was on the ground, more into the bush side. Then I saw legs sticking out from under the car, but there was no movement. The woman was trying to say something, but there was no sound from the other two. I immediately contacted the ambulance and police departments. Both the male and female were rushed to hospital, but the boy who was under the car was declared dead by the paramedics. I later learnt that the male succumbed to his injuries, shortly after being rushed to hospital. I also found two cellphones at the scene which were handed over to the police. It was a very painful and traumatic experience for me and my condolences go out to the families of both the deceased.”
A local resident who was passing by and stopped at the accident scene told the Laudium Sun, “When I arrived at the scene the ambulances were busy taking a male and female to Unitas Hospital and the mortuary van was on the way to pick up the body of the young boy as he was declared dead at the scene. The ID book and passport of Meekaeel and also the passport of Rumanah were also found in the BMW. That’s when I realised who exactly they were. There were several deep scrapings into the sand on the side of the road, which indicated that the car had flipped many times before landing in the vacant plot. At first police were told that there was a fourth passenger, so the police specialised unit was called out together with drones and sniffer dogs, but nothing was found.”
A friend of the Gani family told the Laudium Sun, “When the parents of Rumanah got a call at around 2:30 am that she was in hospital they rushed out thinking that their son Uwais was still sleeping at home, only to find out later that he was with Rumanah and had passed on. Rumanah is not doing well, she is in a critical condition in hospital and all the family can do now is pray to the Almighty for whatever is best for her.”
A family friend of the Adam family told the Laudium Sun, “Meekaeel was with his father in the car business and the family was planning to go for Umrah with him, within the next two weeks.”
According to CERT Centurion, their emergency response crew was dispatched after receiving a call of a serious accident, involving an SUV vehicle. They added, “On arrival, responders found that the SUV had veered off the roadway and rolled several times. All three occupants had been ejected from the vehicle. Emergency personnel found the three occupants with serious injuries. A teenager was declared dead at the scene, while the remaining two patients were transported to a nearby hospital in critical condition.”
About two thousand men, mostly young, attended the funeral prayers of both Uwais and Meekaeel, which were held about three hours apart.