'Humble' carer dies in Kildare road collision

By Elizabeth Lee and Finian Coghlan OVER €8,200 has been raised to help the family of the father-of-five who was killed instantly in a car crash last week.

Nkosana Sibana was returning home from working as a carer on Monday morning when his car collided with a truck in Barnhill, outside Castledermot, killing him instantly.

Nkosana was originally from Zimbabwe and came to Ireland in 2017. He’d been living in Baltinglass since 2022 with his wife, Cingo, and children, Maria (18) Priscilla (15) Michael (13) Malven (10) and two-year-old Miracle.

His devastated sister, Mthandazo Sibanda, set up a GoFundMe page to help the family cover the cost of bringing his remains back to his home in Zimbabwe where his mother lives.

‘My family is devastated by this loss. We are raising funds to assist the family to repatriate the body back to Zimbabwe for burial. We are appealing for any donation that can assist us to bury my brother,’ she said in the GoFundMe page. ‘Your generosity will allow us to give Nkosana Sibanda the dignified farewell he deserves, surrounded by the love of family and friends back home.’ Donations came pouring in after the fundraising appeal was set up, with the target being €10,000 to help cover the flights and funeral costs.

One of his co-workers paid tribute to him on the GoFundMe page saying: ‘Hope you get the best bed in heaven. It was a pleasure to work alongside you. You always had a great big smile every time I saw you.’ Baltinglass Town AFC Soccer Club donated to the fund while condolences were paid by Baltinglass GAA Club where Nkosana’s son, Michael, plays.

His friend, Prince Belunda, described Nkosana as a “very humble man” who was devoted to his family.

“Nkosana was a very good guy. He really loved his family and worked hard to provide for them,” Prince told The Kildare Nationalist.

Nkosana was a deeply religious man and was a preacher in The Zion Church in Clondalkin where his family and friends held a 24-hour vigil for him over the weekend.

Local politician cllr Veralouise Behan offered her condolences, but said that the scene of the fatality was a "historical accident stretch”.

“We’ve seen so many accidents at Barnhill, it’s a big long straight road, and periodically you’ll hear of an accident locally, but then you hear it’s Barnhill again,” she said.

Cllr Behan said: “The community is devastated, and our hearts go out to the relatives.” Gardaí are investigating the fatal crash and are appealing for dashcam footage and information from the public.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Kildare Garda Station on 045 527730, the garda confidential Line on 1800 666111, or any garda station.