Metro police officer Davy Mabunda, who stopped the vehicle with officer Rolle Mpyana, said, “We first noticed the horrible state the car was in and then noted that the driver was wearing his school uniform… with a group of children in [the] backseat, so we stopped the car and arrested the driver, who turned out to be a minor.”
Officer Mabunda said that the vehicle’s bonnet was held down with a nail, the windscreen was cracked, the gear box was loose and the front bumper was unfastened.
The Metro police officers spoke to the student’s father who said that he willingly gave his son the car to transport the children. They also spoke to the principal of Kwa Bhekilanga who said that the student was a problem child.
Officer Mpyana said that the driver will be charged with a number of offences such as driving without a licence, driving an unroadworthy car, driving without a licence disk and driving an overloaded vehicle. The Metro police said that they also found what they suspect to be Nyaope, a mixture of marijuana and heroin, in the student’s school bag.
In a statement to the Sandton Chronicle Metro police Superintendent Ignatius Jona said, “I just want to let the public know that they need to be more cautious. I think that it’s wrong to let their children use this kind of transport because when there’s an accident the public will be asking where the police were when these type of vehicles are on public roads. That’s why we must act harshly in this case.”
Officer Mpyana said that the student’s father will be heavily fined for letting his son use the car, while the child will possibly be sent to a juvenile facility.
