Mninikhaya Mvuli, the driver of a scholar transport that claimed the lives of six children in Mitchells Plain in May 2023, has been sentenced to five years improsonment and have his licensed cancelled for 10 years.
The 58-year-old driver was sentenced in the Mitchells Plain Regional Court on Thursday 26 August.
Six learners killed in Mitchells Plain scholar transport crash
He was convicted on six counts of culpable homicide for negligently driving a bakkie transporting learners to various schools around the Mitchells Plain area. He hit a tree and a set of traffic lights, mounted a traffic island and collided with a bus before the vehicle came to a standstill on AZ Berman. Six learners, aged between seven and 14, lost their lives.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said Mvuli initially pleaded guilty to all charges in terms of Criminal Procedure Act. However, after questioning him, the court entered a plea of not guilty.
Seizure diagnosis revealed during court proceedings
“The court noted a plea of not guilty as it was not satisfied that the accused fully admitted negligence, in that he did not admit to either the speed at which his vehicle was travelling or how he was driving the vehicle. The court heard that doctors diagnosed the accused with seizures in 2022 and prescribed medication, which he was required to take at the time of the accident,” explained Ntabazalila.
According to Ntabazalila doctors had prohibited Mvuli from driving, and the defence admitted that a reasonable person diagnosed with seizures would not have driven a vehicle and that, in doing so, the accused acted negligently. “In his plea, the accused claimed that he lost consciousness while driving and only regained awareness when police were holding him. He realised that he had caused an accident and had suffered something like a blackout,” said Ntabazalila.
Western Cape DPP urges caution when transporting children
The Western Cape Director of Public Prosecutions, Nicolette Bell, welcomed the sentence and urged scholar transport drivers to exercise extreme caution when transporting “the most precious cargo — our children”. She assured the public that the NPA will continue to prosecute vigorously any driver who acts negligently and puts the lives of vulnerable road users at risk.
