Top South African company under siege after employee dies at the office

Cartrack, the vehicle tracking company founded by billionaire Zak Calisto, is under fire after a 29-year-old employee, Gcina Dhladhla, died at its head office in Rosebank.

The family and trade unions allege that Dhladhla was feeling severely unwell but reported for duty out of fear of disciplinary action.

They claim she had previously received a warning letter despite providing a legitimate medical certificate.

It is alleged that after telling her supervisor she felt sick, she was told to go to the bathroom to take a few minutes to recover.

According to many reports, Dhladhla collapsed inside a locked bathroom stall and subsequently died.

“These allegations raise serious concerns regarding workplace health and safety, the treatment of sick employees, and the duty of care,” Cosatu said.

The union called on the Department of Employment and Labour to urgently investigate the circumstances surrounding this tragedy.

This includes the company’s sick leave policies, disciplinary practices, workplace health and safety procedures, and emergency response mechanisms.

The ANC Youth League’s (ANCYL’s) regional spokesperson, Oscar Kanyane, accused Cartrack of being synonymous with the mistreatment of young black employees.

The organisation has laid a formal criminal complaint against Cartrack at the Rosebank Police Station, accusing the company of exploiting young workers.

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) labour desk also launched a fact-finding intervention at the Rosebank premises.

Since the incident, former employees have come forward to detail alleged systemic pressures within the call centre operations.

Cartrack statement regarding the death

Cartrack released a statement, saying Dhladhla experienced a medical emergency at our Rosebank offices on Saturday, 6 June.

The company explained that the medical emergency was sudden and unexpected, and that they reacted the best they could.

“Once the seriousness of the situation became apparent, she received immediate assistance from highly trained on-site first responders,” it said.

“They were equipped with an Automated External Defibrillator (AED), while emergency medical services were immediately called to the scene.”

They said Dhladhla arrived at work on Saturday morning with no indication that she was unwell. She arrived at approximately 08:00.

At around 09:00, she informed her manager that she was feeling dizzy and nauseous. Her manager assisted her and accompanied her to the bathroom.

After she entered a cubicle and locked the door, the manager returned a few minutes later to check on her.

When there was no response, facilities staff were notified to open the door, and at the same time, trained First Responders were activated to assist.

The company added that sick leave has never been denied. She had taken sick leave on Monday, 1 June 2026.

“Upon her return, she provided a sick note issued by a dentist, which was accepted by us,” the company said.

“During the week, our colleague also raised sensitive, private and personal challenges affecting her outside of the workplace.

Cartrack said that her manager handled these private matters with sensitivity and confidentiality.

A case has been opened with the South African Police Service, and the matter is under thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.

“Cartrack reached out to our colleague’s family and has remained in daily contact through the family’s designated representative,” it said.

Cartrack and the Dhladhla family release a statement

On Thursday, 11 June 2026, Cartrack and the Dhladhla family released a joint statement regarding the issue. It is provided in full below.

Over the past few days, the family of Gcina Dhladhla has taken the time and space to grieve the unimaginable loss of a beloved daughter and family member. Yesterday, the family and representatives from Cartrack met to speak openly, share information and discuss the way forward.

The meeting was emotional and constructive, and provided an opportunity for questions to be asked, information to be shared and for everyone to better understand the events surrounding this tragedy.

Both the family and Cartrack are united in wanting the facts to be fully established through the ongoing independent investigations and are committed to fully supporting those processes.

Dhladhla family representative, Thamsanqa Mbuli, said: “We’d like to thank Cartrack management for their cooperation, allowing an organic first discussion that was open and transparent.”

“Our intended objective of clarifying the sequence of events leading up to our beloved daughter, sister and colleague passing was achieved; this is one of many other important steps in the healing process for the family.”

“What happened today has given me peace,” says Lindiwe Dhladhla, sister to Gcina.

“Our colleague was a valued member of our team, and this loss has been deeply felt across the organisation.”

“We remain deeply committed to supporting the family, cooperating fully with law enforcement and the Department of Labour, and ensuring that every fact is uncovered and established through the appropriate processes,” said Joshua Victor, CEO of Cartrack SA.

At the heart of this tragedy is a much-loved daughter, family member, friend and colleague.

Everyone affected by her passing is grieving and searching for answers, and both the family and Cartrack believe that those answers should come through a careful, fair and evidence-based process.

“We thank the love and support expressed by all South Africans and wish to remind everyone that is supporting our family that we have not established all material facts surrounding our loss and would like support from you in allowing the processes of investigation to unfold without preempting the outcome, Cartrack employees are our brothers and sisters as well, let us not see them as enemies,” said Dhladhla family representative, Thamsanqa Mbuli.

In a gesture that reflects mutual respect and shared humanity, the family has extended an invitation to our colleague’s managers and co-workers to attend the funeral and celebrate her life alongside them. “We want Cartrack to feel welcome to attend the funeral and to show their support,” said Phumzile Dhladhla, aunt to Gcina. Cartrack is deeply grateful for this kindness and the opportunity to pay our respects.

The family and Cartrack remain in direct communication and will continue to work together as the investigations progress. Together, we respectfully ask that the focus remains on honouring Gcina Dhladhla’s memory, supporting those who are grieving and allowing the appropriate processes to establish the facts.