Three motorists charged with driving under the influence appeared before the Buhleni Circuit Court yesterday where they pleaded guilty to separate offences.
Each was fined or sentenced to imprisonment.
The first accused, Sonboy Vilakati of Mavula, appeared before Magistrate Cebsile Ngwenya facing two counts under the Road Traffic Act.
Vilakati was charged with contravening certain sections of the Road Traffic Act No. 6 of 2007 for driving a vehicle while under the influence.
According to the charge sheet, on Sunday at about 12:14am along the MR6 public road near Buhleni in the Hhohho region, Vilakati, while driving a Volkswagen sedan, unlawfully drove the vehicle on a public road while under the influence.
The charge sheet further states that a breath specimen taken from the accused recorded 1.74mg/l, well above the legal limit of 0.37mg/l.
In mitigation, he apologised for driving under the influence and without a driver’s licence.
“Our sober driver of the day was tempted to drink and later blacked out. It was late and I wanted to go home so I decided to drive,” he told the court.
Magistrate Ngwenya sentenced him to six months’ imprisonment or a fine of E800 on each count, with the sentences ordered to run consecutively.
Meanwhile, Mbongiseni Nyamane of Madlangempisi also appeared before the same court charged with contravening the Road Traffic Act No. 6 of 2007 for driving under the influence.
The court heard that on July 31 at about 11:30pm along the MR6 near George Farm, Nyamane unlawfully drove a vehicle while under the influence.
According to the charge sheet, police observed the accused was very talkative and that a strong smell of alcohol came from his breath. He pleaded guilty and was convicted on his own plea.
In mitigation, Nyamane apologised to the court, saying he deeply regretted his actions. He was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment or a fine of E800.
In another matter, Busisiwe Mdluli (27), a South African national, told the court that stress had driven her to consume alcohol.
Mdluli appeared before Magistrate Ngwenya charged with the same offence of driving under the influence.
In mitigation, Mdluli also apologised, stating: “I was stressed and had a lot of problems. I resorted to alcohol to ease the stress.” She was sentenced to four months’ imprisonment or a fine of E800.
