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MBABANE – A public transport driver yesterday appeared at the Mbabane Magistrates Court charged with seven counts.
Samkeliso Hlatshwayo pleaded guilty to all the counts.
He admitted having overloaded a Toyota Quantum by five passengers while near Ezulwini Community School.
According to the charge sheet, Hlatshwayo was supposed to load 15 passengers instead of 20.
He admitted having failed to comply with a police instruction by driving off after he was ordered to stop the vehicle.
Hlatshwayo was also charged for stopping the vehicle in a public road, facing oncoming traffic near the community school. The officers of the law discovered that Hlatshwayo was driving the overloaded vehicle without a professional driver’s permit.
The police also discovered that Hlatshwayo was in possession of an expired certificate of fitness. He was charged while near the community school.
The driver was charged for stopping in the public road near Satellite in Ezulwini. He was also charged for driving without a professional driver’s permit while at Satellite in Ezulwini.
Mitigating on the sentence, Hlatshwayo pleaded for the court’s leniency, stating that he was still processing his professional driver’s permit.
He stated he did not intend to comit the offence. On the issue of the expired permit, Hlatshwayo told the court that he hoped that the kombi owner would renew it. He stated that he couldn’t park the kombi because he feared losing his job.
Hlatshwayo was sentenced to eight months imprisonment with an option to pay a fine of E1 000 for overloading. He also parted with the same amount for failing to stop after being ordered to do so by the police.
He was sentenced to three months with an option to pay a fine of E500 for stopping the Quantum in the public road facing oncoming traffic. He also parted with E500 for driving without a professional driver’s permit. He was fined E500 for possession of an expired certificate of fitness. He was sentenced to three months imprisonment with an option to pay a fine of E500 in each of the two counts.
DEATHS AND COVID-19 RECORDED CASES AS OF JANUARY 4 TO 17, 2022;
January 4
3
233 199 148 150 69 54 79 119 72 112 101 53 19 29