The 41-year-old
Zimbabwean Intercape driver, who was arrested by South African authorities
while attempting to flee that country through Beitbridge Border Post, was
yesterday denied bail at Polokwane Magistrate Court.
George Themba
of Harare was arrested at the border post on Monday morning when he attempted
to skip the border hidden under luggage in a trailer of another cross-border
bus.
Themba is
facing nine counts of culpable homicide and another for reckless driving after
he lost control of an Intercape bus, which was travelling to Johannesburg from
Harare last Friday, killing nine Zimbabweans on the spot.
Limpopo police
spokesperson Colonel Moatshe Ngoepe said Themba had been remanded in custody to
October 2 pending further investigations.
“The arrested
suspect in this matter, George Themba aged 41, who is a resident of Harare in
Zimbabwe has made his first appearance today (yesterday) before the Polokwane
Magistrate Court on the following charges : nine counts of culpable homicide
and reckless and/or negligent driving,” he said.
“He was denied
bail and his cases were postponed to October 2, 2018 for further police
investigations. This appearance follows his arrest for a horrific accident
where he later tried to cross the border to Zimbabwe after he was taken to
hospital with other 51 injured passengers for medical treatment.
“As intensive
investigations by the police unfolded, especially on the possible cause of that
accident, he then disappeared following his discharge from hospital and fled
towards Beitbridge port of entry. The police were then tipped-off, they swiftly
responded and subsequently, the driver was caught hiding inside the trailer,
trying to illegally cross the border to Zimbabwe.”
He said charges
were that nine passengers lost their lives during a bus crash which occurred
along the N1 South Road in the early hours of Friday last week.
The bus, he
said was travelling from Polokwane towards Gauteng Province when the driver
lost control and it overturned.
“The bus was
carrying 61 occupants, including the driver and the crew, nine of the 61
passengers were certified dead at the scene and the other injured people,
including the driver were taken to different hospitals for medical treatment.
The identification process of all the deceased is still unfolding. The police
investigations are continuing,” said Col Ngoepe.
Zimbabwe
Consular-General to South Africa Mr Batiraishe Mukonoweshuro said they were
finalising the identification processes pending repatriation of the deceased’s
remains.
He said seven
people were still admitted at Polokwane Hospital, where one person was in the
intensive care unit. Herald
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