‘SHE WAS AN ANGRY CUSTOMER’

MANZINI – The driver of the kombi in which a woman is alleged to have been pushed out has alleged that the woman threw herself out of the moving vehicle without him and the conductor noticing.

The suspect, Oscar Sibeko Methula (30) of Nkambeni, said this in his papers filed at the High Court yesterday for a bail application. Methula was arrested together with one Machawe Ndwandwe (22) of Fairview and charged with the murder of Thubelihle Maphanga, who was allegedly pushed out of the kombi Methula was driving on the day.

She was allegedly shoved out of the vehicle after demanding E2 change, belonging to her mother, whom she was with on the day.
“I was approaching the very station where the deceased’s mother had remained and I was hoping to stop to allow the deceased to move out if she wished to do so, however, she refused. I had, on my own, decided to drive the kombi straight to the police post at Fairview North to report the conduct of the deceased of staging a sit-in strike in the kombi,” the driver, who is the first applicant in the matter, said in the papers.

He added that he later heard the kombi’s passenger door opening while it was in full motion travelling between 40 to 60 kilometres per hour. Methula alleged that when he checked who was opening the door, he saw Maphanga ‘literally’ throwing herself out of the moving kombi and by that time, the conductor had been seated at the back.

“I immediately applied brakes and many people came to the scene to attend to the deceased. When I alighted from the kombi together with the conductor to try and offer assistance to the injured customer and rush her to hospital, members of the public gathered there and threatened us, in particular the conductor whom they assaulted and said he had banged her head against the speakers and then pushed the deceased out of the moving kombi,” he said.
Methula further said it was after the arrival of police officers from the Manzini Police Station that Maphanga was eventually taken to hospital. He revealed that they were advised by the same officers to report to the police station to record statements on the incident, detailing what they knew which resulted in it.

“We were later released by the police. On December 12, 2016 we were called by the police through our cell-phones to report to the station and we went there. We were taken to the Criminal Investigations Department where we were then charged with the murder of the deceased person. On the following day, we both appeared in court where we were remanded in custody until December 21, 2016 pending our committal to the High Court,” Methula said.

The kombi driver said he had no intention nor did he act unlawful so as to murder Maphanga in anyway. Methula said he would plead not guilty during trial as he did not push anyone or let anyone out of the kombi.
He added in the papers that there was no reason to keep the passenger door locked as they were going to stop at the deceased’s station and let her out without any struggle.

Murder

“We could not anticipate that an old person like the deceased would do such a thing. I have been advised by my legal Counsel and verily believe that the murder charge against us is ill-judged and we stand good prospects of being acquitted and discharged,” Methula also said in the papers.

Meanwhile, the kombi conductor said Maphanga was very angry on the day of the incident as she moved from the seat she had been occupying and sat on the one he (conductor)usually sat on.
“Since she had so much anger and to avoid any further talks, I ignored her and went to sit at the back of the kombi. I did not see her opening the passenger door but I only heard that the passenger door was being opened while the kombi was in motion and when I stood up to see what was happening, I only saw the deceased rolling down out of the kombi on the tarmac,” Ndwandwe said in his founding affidavit.

He added that he was shocked by the incident and by the time the kombi stopped, a lot of people came to the scene and started blaming them for having caused her to fall off the kombi.

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