Bus firm to take Mzuzu City Council to court

Trans Rukuru Passenger Service Bus Company sas it will take Mzuzu City Council (MCC) to court, for allegedly being responsible for the damage of its bus while in the  council’s custody.

Mid-Augustthis year, the company’s bus got burnt after a man, who is believed to be mentally challenged, got into it with a charcoal burner. The bus had been parked in Mzuzu Bus Depot for almost a year.

Trans Rukuru Passenger Service Bus Company executive director James Mwanyongo said the company arrived at the decision to sue because  the bus was in the custody of the council as collateral for unpaid fees.

“I went there to meet with authorities to fix the bus, but they told me to pay the parking fee. The council told me that I had to pay K1.5 million, calculating  the fee from the first day of the breakdown,” he said.

MCC chief executive officer Macloud Kadam’manja confirmed that the council got hold of the bus due to unpaid fees.

“The bus depot is not a garage that we could be keeping the bus in there for more than a year, every bus in that depot pays the parking fee. We were also expecting Trans Rukuru to pay the fee after a long parking of their bus, but they failed.

“The solution here is not suing the council, but to see what was the main cause of the fire and why. But if he wants us to meet in court, then we are ready,” he said. n