Gogo fumes over wrong traffic fines

Celia Mfono told Vukani that she gets a headache whenever she thinks about the car that has the same registration number as her bakkie.

Gugulethu pensioner Celia Mfono, 63, says her life took a miserable turn towards the end of last year when she started receiving traffic fines stating that her car licence disc was unclear.

Ms Mfono said the traffic fines amounted to R500 each and so far she has received more than three traffic fines.

She told Vukani that what shocked her more was that the fines were for a Fiat Uno that has the same registration number as her double cab bakkie.

Ms Mfono said she immediately informed the authorities at the traffic department that this was not her car and also attempted to open a case at Gugulethu police station.

But she said all of these efforts had been useless as they all ignored plea.

Ms Mfono said last year she received a court summons for one of the outstanding fines. However, she said that she told the court that these fines were not for her car and that she had taken aggressive steps to try and solve the matter but without success.

She said she showed the magistrates a picture she got from footage she obtained from the traffic department of the Uno caught speeding by cameras.

p>Ms Mfono said she also showed the judges the papers that indicate that she owns a Navara double cab bakkie and not a Fiat Uno.

She said the judges opted to give her the benefit of the doubt and scrapped the fine.

But that was not the end of the nightmare.

The 63-year-old said she was shocked and could not believe it when she again received another traffic fine, this time for speeding and parking in a loading zone, at the beginning of this year.

She said she does not understand why the authorities have failed to investigate the matter when she has laid a complaint.

She said she was lucky that the bakkie has not been stopped by traffic officers as all the Uno’s fines would appear under her name.

She said this matter has brought her an endless amount of stress.

“I have no idea how to get this matter fixed. What can I do if the authorities are not helping me to solve it? How I will get a new disc if these fines are not cleared? If that Uno is being used to steal things, I will be the first suspect. I want them to arrest this person that uses my car registration. This has ruined my life,” Ms Mfonno said.

She said she decided to turn to the media with the hope that she might be assisted but all traffic services spokesperson, Richard Coleman, said was that the fines against Ms Mfono’s name would be withdrawn.

He said the Fiat Uno is being driven with previously registered number plates. This registration will be added to the verification bin so the vehicle can be tracked down, he said.