Nathi is 37 years old. His life has not been easy. He grew up very poor in Gugulethu, his mother being a domestic worker who never had the opportunity to be educated. His father left them at an early age. At the time they were living with 12 other people in one home. Fortunately, Nathi is also an entrepreneur and an optimist and began a ginger beer brewery and making vetkoek from home to help keep his family afloat.
Every morning, he would get up early to prepare the dough before going to school. Later, he expanded his bakery to include scones and muffins and worked extremely hard to establish a business that he could hand over to his sister.
His grandfather was his mentor: he never studied but worked as an engineer for Chrysler. This motivated Nathi to work hard at school. When he turned 14, he was afforded the opportunity to become an exchange student in London. He remained there after he completed his schooling. His early passion for baking led him to attend the hotel school at the Marriot in Oxford and pursue a career as a professional chef. He has since worked all around the world in their various hotels, allowing him to care for his family back home. He was also able to pay for his brother to attend university and saved enough money to build himself a new home in South Africa.
Life was going well until his mom received a cancer diagnosis. His mom, brother, elder sister, two nieces and nephews are all financially dependent on him, which meant there wasn’t a worse time for an accident to happen.
In 2017 Nathi had a family reunion in Blue Downs which he also attended to prepare the food. After the reunion, he transported people back to their homes and was involved in a head-on collision with another car that was driving on the wrong side of the road. The driver of the other vehicle was under the influence of alcohol. Nathi was unconscious and later woke up in Tygerberg Hospital with abrasions to his forehead, several bone and knee fractures, a rib fracture, lung contusion, as well as various bruises and abrasions. He could not feel his legs and he couldn’t speak. He was aware of his mother praying for him next to his bed. She needed him to help her to fight her cancer.
While he was hospitalised he lodged a claim directly at the Road Accident Fund through Tygerberg Hospital. He was however alerted to the importance of legal representation to ensure appropriate compensation and heard that Simpsons were experts in this field. She referred him to Simpsons Attorneys where Kimberley Ross handled his matter.
His recovery took long and he was wheelchair bound, becoming very despondent at times. His 79-year old aunt looked after him while he was rehabilitating. It was during this time that he believes he received a visit from the spirits of his ancestors which motivated him to fight. He asked his brother, an alcoholic, to sober up and push his wheelchair to the clinic so he could receive the physiotherapy he required to recover and work again.
During this time, he also decided to study financial auditing through CPUT. He now wants to become a teacher to inspire other children who grew up in disadvantaged communities.
Through the efforts of Simpsons Attorneys, Nathi has recently been awarded R1.6 million from the Road Accident Fund which will enable him to pay for his studies, settle his debt and buy himself and his family some of the things he didn’t have when he grew up.
Says Nathi about Kimberley, his attorney: “She is an amazing woman, she always listened to me. Simpsons Attorneys also helped me to bury my aunt while I was waiting for my money to be paid”.
Nathi says the successful claim has changed his life and he also forgave the people who caused the accident. He paid thanks to his grandfather and grandmother by erecting tombstones for them in the Eastern Cape after receiving his settlement.
