Mohalenyane Phakela

THE Lesotho Chefs Association is appealing to well-wishers to help them settle medical bills for two of their members currently hospitalised at Sebokeng Hospital in South Africa.

The duo was part of Team Lesotho which was involved in an accident on its way home from participating in the African Food Festival in Pretoria, South Africa.

The festival which featured 13 African countries was held from 28 August to 2 September 2017.

Lesotho Chefs Association president, Chef Donald Moletsane, said they finished third but their joy almost turned into tragedy when the driver of their taxi lost control of the car.

“We hired a Lesotho taxi to take us to and from the competition in Pretoria and we suffered an accident near Sebokeng on our way back,” Chef Donald told Xpress People.

“The driver tried to overtake a car and lost control as he tried to return to the right lane to avoid a collision with an oncoming vehicle. All I can remember is the taxi rolling on the fields next to the road.

“We were taken to Sebokeng Hospital and unfortunately the two head chefs were badly injured and are still hospitalised while the rest of us suffered minor scratches and were discharged a few hours after running tests.”

He said the two had to undergo surgery and their release dates are still unknown.

He said their medical bills were M4000 each but could increase if they needed more attention.

Turning to the competition, he said their third place finish had secured them qualification to the next stage in Ghana in January 2018.

“We competed in the Traditional Food, Student Field Challenge and Nelson Mandela Field Challenge Curry Cup categories.

“The competition was very tight with countries such as Gabon, Ghana, Congo Brazzaville, Zimbabwe and South Africa but we fought very hard to finish third.

“Gabon was first followed by South Africa and this competition is just like a soccer world cup tournament and this was just the first stage. If we win in January then we will qualify for the World Food Championships where we will be up against countries from the five continents,” he said.