Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga has welcomed the 10-year imprisonment sentence imposed on the driver who caused the collision that claimed the lives of her son, daughter-in-law and four grandchildren in 2022.
Speaking after the Ladysmith regional court imposed the sentence on Wednesday, Chikunga commended the court for the sentence and said justice has been done.
“However, it is not going to bring back my children. It is six children, who had a bright future ahead of them,” Chikunga said.
Handing down the sentence, Regional Court Magistrate, E L Louw, said she had considered the seriousness of the offence, the interest of the public and the accused’s personal circumstances in passing sentence.
Louw said the accused, Celumusa Ngwenya, was 35 years old, had three children and was an amputee.
Ngwenya had his right leg amputated following a road accident in 2018 and he bought a bakkie after obtaining R1.8 million in compensation from the Road Accident Fund (RAF) in 2022.
The magistrate imposed 10 years direct imprisonment and cancelled Ngwenya’s driving licence.
Ngwenya pleaded guilty to six counts of culpable homicide as part of Section 112.
Ngwenya was found guilty on charges of culpable homicide following a crash that happened in 2022.
At the time, Chikunga, was the country’s deputy transport minister.
She lost her son, daughter-in-law and four grandchildren after their vehicle collided head-on with a bakkie on the N11 between Ladysmith and Newcastle in KwaZulu-Natal.
According to KZN NPA regional spokesperson, Natasha Ramkisson-Kara, Ngwenya’s plea relates to the incident which claimed the lives of family members of the Transport Minister.
Ramkisson-Kara indicated that the investigations were prosecutor-guided, resulting in the suspect appearing in court in January, following the issuing of summons. “In aggravation of sentence, Prosecutor Sathsha Budhram led the evidence of Advocate Makhosini Msibi from the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) who told the court that South Africa has approximately 12 541 vehicle-related accidents, costing the economy about R 198 billion.
“According to a vehicle tracker report handed into court, Ngwenya was driving at 158km/h in an 80km zone, and he overtook on a double barrier line, around a bend. Since all the six counts were taken as one for sentencing, Ngwenya will serve an effective 10-year imprisonment. Further, in terms of Section 34 of the National Road Traffic Act, his driver’s licence was cancelled,” she said.
As such, Ramkisson-Kara said the NPA welcomes the successful finalisation of this matter.
“We welcome the finalisation of this matter and hope that the sentence sends out the necessary deterrent message to like-minded individuals.”