Mbabane – A Zimbabwean truck driver who survived a serious accident along the notorious Malagwane Hill found himself having violated the Kingdom of Eswatini’s traffic laws.
Forty-five Benjamin Moyo who was charged with a count of contravening section 89(1) read with section 22(1) and (7) of the road traffic act of 2007, attested to having crashed a heavy loader when the brakes failed while descending the steep slope of the public road.
“This could have ended badly, I thank God to be alive because I had told myself that I’m dying. My quick thinking saved my life and possibly others,” Moyo told Senior Magistrate Sifiso Vilakati on Wednesday in the Mbabane magistrate’s courts.
This was before he was ordered to pay a fine of E500 or serve five months in prison.
The vehicle, he said, veered off the road and overturned several times, landing in a drainage ditch.
He said the truck was carrying a heavy load when it suddenly picked up speed and he lost control.
During mitigation, Moyo said he had first stopped before attempting the Malagwane Hill to cool his engine and even checked if everything was fine.
He said nothing was out of the ordinary, only when he was just in the middle of the hill did he feel the truck losing brakes and picking up speed.
After realising this, he said he tried to apply brakes but they were not working. Attempting to avoid hitting other vehicles, he pointed the truck into the drainage.
From that moment, he said, he regained his senses.
Witnesses pulled him out of the vehicle and he survived.
Moyo had minor injuries. He was rushed to the Mbabane Government Hospital for treatment and discharged.
Discussion about this post