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

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.

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