Times Of Swaziland: HORRIFIC MALINDZA CRASH: KOMBI DRIVER, 3  PASSENGERS KILLED,  16 HOSPITALISED

HORRIFIC MALINDZA CRASH: KOMBI DRIVER, 3  PASSENGERS KILLED,  16 HOSPITALISED
================================================================================
Sibusiso Zwane on 19/12/2024 08:37:00


SITEKI - Four people died on the spot during the Malindza horrific accident; the
driver of the kombi and three passengers.
Sixteen others were hospitalised. The accident happened on Tuesday afternoon at
Mfelafutsi, between Malindza and Mpaka, in the Lubombo Region, along
Mpaka/Mbhadlane MR3 Public Road. The vehicles involved in the accident are a
Toyota Quantum, which operates between Shewula and Manzini, and a Toyota Land
Cruiser SUV, which belongs to Good Shepherd Catholic Mission, in Siteki.
According to a source close to the matter, the kombi, which was from Shewula,
under Lomahasha Inkhundla, was moving towards Manzini when the accident
happened. The passengers included an unconfirmed number of Roman Catholic Church
altar boys, who were going to church in Manzini, a pregnant woman and a member
of the Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force (UEDF), who was going back to work, among
others.
Opposite
On the other hand, the source said the Toyota Land Cruiser SUV was moving in the
opposite direction. According to the source, when the Toyota Quantum had gone
past the Mpaka Filling Station T-junction, the driver, Mcolisi Mabila (37) of
Shewula, saw the Toyota Land Cruiser SUV overtaking some vehicles and he tried
to slow down to allow the oncoming car, which was on his lane, to overtake and
return to its lane.  However, the source claimed that the space was not big
enough for the SUV to overtake the vehicles and return to its lane.
Therefore, said the source, the driver of the Toyota Quantum decided to swerve
to the left - towards the sidewalk, in a bid to avoid colliding with the SUV
head-on.
“Unfortunately, at the very same moment, the driver of the SUV swerved to his
right - towards the sidewalk, in order to try to avoid crashing into the
vehicles he was trying to overtake and the oncoming Toyota Quantum. This
resulted in both vehicles colliding head-on, towards the end of the
Mpaka/Manzini lane,” he said. The source said the impact of the collision was
huge, such that the driver of the Toyota Quantum and some passengers were
trapped in the public service transport vehicle for some time, until they were
extricated by firefighters and police officers. He said Mcolisi (the driver),
together with three passengers; Nomvuselelo Matsenjwa (27) of Matsetsa, a
37-year-old man of Mankayane and a 12-year-old girl of Shewula, died on the
spot.
He said 14 passengers, who were also aboard the Toyota Quantum Kombi, together
with the driver and passenger of the SUV, sustained serious injuries and were
rushed to hospital.
This publication managed to speak to six of the accident survivors, who were
passengers in the Toyota Quantum and they included the conductor. One of them is
Bayandza Mthembu (14), who is doing Form II at Shewula High School. He was among
the Roman Catholic Church altar boys, who were in the Toyota Quantum. His left
leg was fractured during the accident and he is currently admitted to Good
Shepherd Catholic Hospital.
Another survivor is Nomphumelelo Myeni (24) of Ngogola, Mafutseni, in the
Manzini Region. Myeni, who is nine months pregnant, said she was sitting in the
back seat when the accident happened and she does not know what happened
exactly. She said she was rushed to hospital after she vomited blood. “I
supposed I was terrified, because doctors say there are no visible injuries.
However, they said they will do more scans,” she said. Meanwhile, Majahonkhe
Ndlovu (33) of Sikhuphe, in the Lubombo Region, who is a soldier, said he was
going to work when the accident happened. He said his camp is Mbangweni Army
Barracks, but he is based at the borderline at Mpuluzi.
“I was the last passenger to board the Toyota Quantum before the accident, as
I boarded it at Mpaka Filling Station, which is at the T-junction to King Mswati
III International Airport, and in about two minutes, the accident happened,”
he said. The military man sustained injuries to the head, such that he had to be
stitched. He was also injured on the left hand. He said he was feeling pain
around the right ribs and neck. Bonginkhosi Nqwanya (29) of Malindza, who is a
Junior Forman at Investage Investments (a construction company), said he boarded
the Toyota Quantum at Matsetsa and his right leg was fractured during the
accident. He said he was sitting on the first row of seats, behind the front
seats in the Toyota Quantum.
He said medical practitioners told him that they might put an external fixator
in his leg. External fixators are metal pins or screws that are placed into the
bone through small incisions into the skin and muscles. The pins and screws are
attached to a bar outside the skin. The conductor of the public transport
vehicle, Thulani Mkhonta (29) of Shewula, said his left arm was broken and his
right thigh was in pain. He said he had worked in the public transport sector
for about eight years and had never been involved in a traffic accident such
that he had to be hospitalised. He said in a previous accident, he escaped
unhurt and it was after the kombi had a tyre burst.
Lungile Motsa (37) of Malindza said her left foot was fractured and her backbone
was painful, such that she could not walk properly. She said she had difficulty
walking to the bathroom and the medical practitioners said they would run more
scans. This publication gathered that the driver of the SUV and the passenger
were admitted to private wards at Good Shepherd Catholic Hospital, where
visitors are not allowed.
On the other hand, some of the Toyota Quantum passengers, who were critically
injured, were transferred to Mbabane Government Hospital, while others were
discharged later on.
The death of Matsenjwa was confirmed by her mother, Thini Masango, who said her
daughter was staying at Luve and had visited them to drop some paint. He said
she was involved in the accident while on her way back to Luve, where she made
means to earn a living.
The grieving mother said they are struggling to make ends meet as a family and
in that regard, she appealed for assistance from members of the family, so that
they can be able to bury her daughter.  She said as parents of the deceased,
they are unemployed and live with two children aged 32 and 14 years old. She
said those who are willing to assist them can contact her at 7637 8075 or the
deceased’s brother at 7603 8682. On the same note, the demise of the kombi
driver was confirmed by his uncle, Bonginkhosi Mabila. However, he said at the
moment there was nothing much they could say about the matter, because they were
yet to meet the police to find out more about what happened.
Meanwhile, Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Senior
Superintendent Phindile Vilakati, confirmed the accident. She said on Tuesday,
at around 3:30pm, near Malindza (Sitsembiso Carriers Trucks), along
Mpaka/Mbhadlane MR3 Public Road, a Toyota Land Cruiser SUV, which was driven by
a man from Khutsala (Good Shepherd Catholic Hospital), collided with a Toyota
Quantum, which was driven by a 37-year-old man of Shewula. She said the driver
of the SUV sustained serious injuries, together with a 55-year-old female
passenger of Matsetsa, and they were rushed to Good Shepherd Catholic Hospital,
where they were admitted.
Passengers
On the other hand, the police communications officer said the driver of the
Toyota Quantum and three passengers; a 38-year-old man of Mankayane, 27-year-old
woman of Matsetsa and 12-year-old girl of Shewula, sustained serious injuries
and were rushed to the same hospital, where they were certified dead upon
arrival. She added that 14 passengers of the Toyota Quantum were also seriously
injured and were rushed to the same hospital, where some were admitted. She said
the 14 passengers included a 29-year-old man of Malindza, a 26-year-old man of
Luve, a 22-year-old man of Shewula, a 17-year-old woman of Shewula and a
19-year-old man of Shewula. According to Vilakati, others are a 44-year-old man
of Matsetsa, a 37-year-old woman of Malindza, a 33-year-old man of Nsulutane
(Sikhuphe), a 15-year-old boy of Shewula, a 17-year-old boy of Shewula and a
14-year-old boy of Shewula. Others are a 44-year-old woman of Malindza, a
14-year-old boy of Shewula and a 10-year-old boy of Mliba.