Justice served, but six of my family are gone forever: Transport minister reacts to jailing of speedster

Transport minister Sindisiwe Chikunga has welcomed the 10-year imprisonment sentenced imposed on the driver who caused the collision that claimed the lives of her son, daughter-in-law and four grandchildren in 2022.

Speaking after the Ladysmith regional court handed down the sentence on Thursday, she thanked the court for the sentence and said justice has been done.

”However, it is not going to bring back my children. It is six children who had a bright future ahead of them,” she said.

Celumusa Ngwenya, 35, pleaded guilty to six counts of culpable homicide after the accident on July 17 2022 on the N11 highway. 

Khulekani Xaba, who was a planner at Transnet, his wife Zinhle and children Nizenande, Mashiyamahle, Thapelo and Olwethu died in a head-on collision with a bakkie. They were aged between four and 40 years.

Regional court magistrate E L Louw said she had considered the seriousness of the offence, the interest of the public and the accused's personal circumstances in passing sentence.

Ngwenya, a father of three children, had previously been involved in a serious crash.

The court heard Ngwenya had his right leg amputated after a road accident in 2018. He bought a bakkie after receiving R1.8m in compensation from the Road Accident Fund in 2022.

Four months before the crash involving the minister’s family, Ngwenya had applied for a driving licence to drive heavy motor vehicles. The application was made at the Randburg testing centre, where he was issued a licence to drive a light motor vehicle.

The magistrate found Ngwenya was grossly negligent.

According to a vehicle tracker report handed to the court, Ngwenya was driving at 158km/h in an 80km/h zone, and overtook on a double barrier line around on a bend.

Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) CEO advocate Makhosini Msibi gave evidence in aggravation of sentence. He said the road on which the crash happened was notorious for deadly collisions and was classified as one of the hazardous national routes.

He said Ngwenya had not made any attempts to stop or reduce speed before the collision happened. The mechanical investigation of the vehicle showed the throttle was open, indicating the vehicle was in motion even after impact.

Msibi said the RTMC is investigating the circumstances in which Ngwenya was issued a licence.

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