Mbabane – Vusi Maseko of Langeni was sentenced by the Mbabane Magistrate’s Court for causing damage to property belonging to his relative, Bheki Shabangu. The court heard that the destruction amounted to E15,000, including orchard trees valued at E3,000 and fencing with poles worth E12,000.
Maseko explained during questioning that the incident occurred while he was “fixing things at home” and insisted the damage was accidental. He told the court that he had planned to take on small repair jobs to compensate Shabangu, adding that he hoped the family connection would allow the matter to be resolved amicably.
During mitigation, Maseko asked the court to consider a lenient sentence. He stated that he had attended all court proceedings diligently and expressed his commitment to repairing relations with the complainant. Magistrate Sipho Dlamini ordered that Maseko pay a fine of E2,000. Failure to settle the fine would result in two years’ imprisonment.
In another case before the same court, Sibusiso “Tolas” Dlamini faced multiple charges following a series of traffic violations. Dlamini was convicted of drunk driving, disobeying a red traffic light, ignoring a stop sign, and failing to produce a driver’s licence. Evidence presented included a breathalyser test, which recorded 1.03 mg/l of alcohol in his system.
Dlamini told the court he had consumed alcohol the previous day and claimed he did not know it remained in his body. He also said he had been pressured by a customer who urgently required transport, which led him to commit the traffic violations.
During his plea for mercy, Dlamini described himself as a hustler with limited financial means and promised not to repeat the offences. Despite this, the court found him guilty on all four counts.
For the drunk driving offence, Dlamini was fined E5,000 or, alternatively, two years in prison. For the offences of running a red traffic light and ignoring a stop sign, he received fines of E800 each or six months in prison per offence. For failing to produce a driver’s licence, he was fined E1,000 or three months in prison. The court ordered that the first three counts run concurrently.
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