Durban -
Sanele May, the young Swazi who was driving the truck that killed 24 people on Field’s Hill last month, was in the country illegally which was why he remained in custody after his appearance in the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.
He is charged with murdering 24 people when his truck smashed into four taxis and a car on September 5.
Magistrate Wendolyn Robinson reserved judgment on his bail application until next week.
The court heard that May, 23, had been wanted by Durban’s metro police for a previous traffic violation and there was a warrant for his arrest for not paying the fine.
He had been driving a truck with faulty indicators and headlights and which did not have a licence disc.
May said through a statement read out by advocate Louis Barnard that he informed the truck owner of the fine, which was issued in August, and he had promised it would be paid.
It was not paid though and on May’s previous court appearance his defence settled the fine and the warrant was rescinded.
Investigating officer detective Sanjeev Singh told the court that he had travelled to Swaziland’s equivalent of Home Affairs and was told that May still lived in that country.
“Mr May was given a holiday permit to visit for 30 days on the condition he could not be employed, on October 24, 2012. He did not obtain a work permit in South Africa and his employment in the country was illegal,” said Singh.
May’s Swazi public driving permit and South African traffic register certificate were both fake, said Singh. May did, however, possess a valid heavy vehicle licence from Swaziland.
Barnard began his argument for bail by assuring the magistrate that the driver was not a “flight risk”.
“The Swazi government has co-operated fully with the investigations. There is no reason they would not co-operate in the future,” said Barnard.
He had liaised with the Swazi high commissioner in Pretoria who told him they would assist in ensuring May showed up for his trial.
Barnard said for the truck driver to be found guilty of murder, the state would have to show he intended to kill people.
Robinson was not convinced, though.
“What is to stop him from going through the border fence to Maputo (Mozambique) and doing the same thing there?” said Robinson.
She said she needed a week to go through the evidence before making a decision on the bail, and reserved that to next Tuesday.
The courtroom was packed with members of the Support Sanele May Group who stood, squatted, and kneeled once all the seats in the gallery had been taken.
The Mercury