The 30-year-old truck driver convicted of 20 counts of murder for the tragic Pongola crash in 2022, has been sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment.

The sentence was yesterday handed down by the KZN High Court sitting in Pongola.

Sibusiso Siyaya was convicted of murder, reckless and negligent driving, as well as failure to perform the duties of a driver after an accident.

He was sentenced to 14 years’ imprisonment for the murders (all taken as one for sentencing), three years for reckless and negligent driving, and a further six years for failure to perform the duties of a driver after an accident.

The court ordered that the sentences for reckless and negligent driving and failure to perform the duties of a driver run concurrently, resulting in the effective sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment.

After the accident, which occurred on a Friday afternoon in September 2022, it was revealed that Siyaya had been involved in a truck blockade on the N2 earlier in the day and was fleeing the police at the time of the incident.

The bakkie into which the truck ploughed was transporting 18 schoolchildren and one teacher home from school. The driver of the bakkie was also killed.

Video footage of the crash:

The death toll in the horror crash on the N2 highway in northern KwaZulu-Natal has risen to 21. 19 of the deceased are children, aged between 5 and 12 years. The accident happened near Pongola in the eMakhalathini area. #DStv403 #eNCA pic.twitter.com/DdTzZiDR7p

— eNCA (@eNCA) September 16, 2022