The KwaZulu-Natal High Court, sitting in Pongola, convicted truck driver Sibusiso Siyaya on 20 counts of murder as well as reckless and negligent driving and failure to perform duties of a driver after an accident.
The conviction relates to an accident that happened in September 2022 where the truck that Siyaya was driving was plowed into a bakkie transporting school children, killing all the occupants of the bakkie.
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The horrific crash claimed the lives of 18 pupils, a teacher and the van driver on the N2 in the Godlwayo area in Phongola, northern KwaZulu-Natal.
Shortly after the accident, Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula said an investigation by the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) revealed that the driver allegedly drove in the oncoming traffic lane for over 1.2 kilometers.
The bakkie was transporting 18 primary school pupils aged between five and 13 years old who were all killed in the crash.
Mbalula said the report found that Siyaya allegedly overtook multiple vehicles across a solid white line forcing drivers to swerve out of the way.
The driver never made any attempt to return to his correct lane but continued driving against oncoming traffic, putting the lives of other motorists at risk. This is a result of the driver of the articulated truck overtaking multiple vehicles, where this action was prohibited by no overtaking lines, dangerously and illegally placing the lives of the occupants of the oncoming vehicles at risk.
The report concluded that Siyaya’s error was the root cause of the road crash, Mbalula said.
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He said the driver’s action of overtaking vehicles for approximately 1.2 kilometers before the area of impact, was extremely reckless.
Natasha Ramkisson-Kara, KZN’s National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson, said the matter was remanded to Wednesday, May 15, for sentence proceedings.
