Traffic police in Eastern Equatoria State are holding a driver allegedly responsible for the death of a shopkeeper in Budi County on Sunday.
Mahmud Silliman, 48, was seated in his shop at a market in Ngauro Payam when the vehicle – Toyota Probox with a registration plate number SSD 460 AF – rammed into the structure , leaving him in a critical condition.
“The vehicle was moving at a high speed when it knocked the businessman who was seated in his shop in the morning,” Maj. Manoa Stanly, director for traffic in greater Kapoeta, confirmed the incident to Singaita FM on Monday.
He said Mahmud succumbed to the injuries on the way while being rushed to a hospital in Kapoeta for special medical attention.
The officer revealed that the driver, Lino John, 18 – who was the turn-boy for the vehicle – could be charged with a number of counts, including vehicular manslaughter and driving without license.
It is a an offense to drive without a driver’s license in South Sudan, according to the Traffic Act 2003.
“No person shall drive a motor vehicle of any class on a road unless he is a holder of a valid driving license or a provisional driving licence endorsed in respect of that class of vehicles,” reads Section 31.1.
It stipulates that whoever is found driving without a license is liable to a fine or a jail sentence not exceeding three months or both.
In addition, Section 47 states that any person who causes the death of another by driving a vehicle…commits an offence and shall on conviction be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years.
Major Manoa cautioned drivers to respect traffic laws and regulations to avoid similar accidents.
“You must have a driving permit first then you can drive a car. Do you now see the result of this accident? Even if the relatives of the deceased forgive him, the traffic law cannot forgive he broke the law,” Stanly stated.