10 years imprisonment for man who killed Transport Minister’s family

The Ladysmith Regional Court on Thursday sentenced Celumusa Ngwenya, to an effective 10 years imprisonment after he pleaded guilty to six counts of culpable homicide.

The 35-year-old’s plea relates to the motor vehicle accident that occurred on 17 July 2022, on the N11 highway, outside Ladysmith which claimed the lives of six people who were family members of Transport Minister, Sindisiwe Chikunga.

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The deceased were aged between four and 40 years old. Following the accident and investigations, Ngwenya appeared in court in January this year on a summons.

Minister Chikunga submitted a victim impact statement to the court outlining the pain and trauma experienced by her family following the incident. This was handed in to the court as part of the state’s case.

Speeding, reckless driving

National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara explained that 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 R198 billion every year.

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.

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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.

“The NPA welcomes the successful finalisation of this matter. We hope that the sentence sends out the necessary deterrent message to like-minded individuals.

Leading cause of death for SA youth

On Tuesday, the Road Accident Fund (RAF) said that statistics showed road accidents were the leading cause of death for youth in South Africa.

The RAF said an analysis of available data revealed that the average number of road fatalities when Youth Day falls on a weekend is 74.

“From 2020 to 2022, the estimated number of young people who died on South African roads was 13 963 out of 34 946 fatalities. This translates to an annual average of 4 654 fatalities in the age group 15 to 34 compared to the total average of 11 649.”

Additional reporting by Faizel Patel.