Online Reporter
Thupeyo Muleya, Beitbridge Bureau
A 62-year-old cross-border bus driver employed by South Africa-based Mthethi Bus Coaches has been jailed for an effective 18 months for negligent driving that claimed the lives of two people in December 2024 near Makhado along the Beitbridge–Bulawayo Highway.
Roderick Ndlovu was driving an Irizar bus on December 19, 2024 when he allegedly strayed from his lane, resulting in a head-on collision with a Toyota Fortuner that was travelling in the opposite direction.
The driver of the Toyota Fortuner and a front-seat passenger died on the spot.
Although Ndlovu pleaded not guilty to a charge of culpable homicide, Beitbridge Resident Magistrate Mr Takudzwa Gwazemba convicted him on the strength of the State’s evidence.
As part of the sentence, the court also prohibited Ndlovu from driving class one vehicles for 24 months and cancelled his class one driver’s licence.
Prosecutors Mr Ronald Mugwagwa and Miss Olivia Chamutinya told the court that on December 19, 2024, at around 3am, Ndlovu was driving a speeding South African-registered bus heading towards Beitbridge.
Upon reaching the 277-kilometre peg along the Bulawayo–Beitbridge road, he hit a donkey with the left side of the bus’s bumper.
The bus then swerved into the oncoming lane and collided head-on with the Toyota Fortuner, resulting in the death of its driver and the front-seat passenger.
After the collision, the bus veered off the road to the right, hit roadside bushes and eventually ended up on a railway line where it came to a stop.
The court heard that the bus sustained extensive damage on its right side, while the Toyota Fortuner was also extensively damaged.
The bodies of the deceased were taken to Beitbridge District Hospital for post-mortems, while Ndlovu was also taken to the same hospital for treatment before being arrested following police investigations.
