Cape Town — The Pongola truck driver, who killed 20 people in a deadly crash in September 2022, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Appearing in the Kwa-Zulu Natal (KZN) High Court on Thursday, Sibusiso Siyaya, 30, was sentenced to 20 years in prison on 20 counts of murder, reckless and negligent driving and failure to perform duties of a driver after an accident, The Citizen reported.
Siyaya worked as a heavy motor vehicle driver that trasnported coal from Mpumalanga to Richards Bay in KZN to be exported. He frequently travelled the N2 via the Itshelejuba Pass in Pongola.
On 16 September 2022, Siyaya was driving recklessly and overtook several drivers, crossing into the other lane, causing other drivers to take evasive action.
“Whilst driving on the on-coming lane, Siyaya collided with a motor vehicle carrying 20 passengers. The occupants of the motor vehicle were aged between 5 and 28 years old and were predominantly schoolchildren on their way to school,” National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara, said.
Advocate Krishen Shah led the evidence of 12 witnesses, relying on the testimonies of three expert witnesses, as well as onboard CCTV video clips and GPS evidence, encompassing both technical and mechanical evidence.
BREAKING: A truck driver convicted of 20 counts of murders following a gruesome crash with a bakkie transporting school children in Pongola, KZN has been sentenced to 20 years imprisonment. Sibusiso Siyaya , 29, was on Thursday afternoon. @News24 pic.twitter.com/OC0XRPO3II
— Sakhiseni Nxumalo (@SakhiNxumalo) May 16, 2024
According to IOL, KZN MEC for Transport Community Safety and Liaison, Sipho Hlomuka, welcomed the 20-year jail term for Siyaya and said the judgment will “go down in history as the most important ruling and a deterrent to irresponsible drivers on the road”.
“As government we welcome this historic judgment. The fact that Siyaya was sentenced for murder, amongst the other crimes, proves the seriousness in which the criminal justice system is attaching to road traffic offenders,” Hlomuka said.
“We also believe that through this judgment that victims’ families will find closure knowing that the person responsible for the calamity that robbed them of their loved ones has been sent to jail.” Hlomuka concluded.
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
