Pretoria - Losing his temper at car washers who washed his vehicle without his permission, has cost a father of four dearly after he ended up stabbing one of the men during an argument and was subsequently sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment.
But Sipho Radebe was given a lifeline by the high court in Pretoria, when a judge - on appeal - reduced his sentence to an effective three years in jail. Radebe has already served two years and is due to be released soon.
But he will have to attend anger management classes, Judge Nicolene Janse van Nieuwenhuizen said.
The unsolicited car wash had dire consequences. The two car washers did not take kindly to Radebe kicking their polish away and attacked him. According to Radebe he acted in self defence when he stabbed one of them to death.
His problems started on the morning of July 27, 2013 when he took his pregnant wife to a clinic in Daveyton. The clinic was inside a shopping mall and he parked his vehicle outside the building.
When he returned it appeared his car was being washed and this upset him. He noticed a tin of polish next to one of the tyres and kicked it, spilling the contents.
Radebe was approached by two angry car washers. An argument ensued over the spilt polish and the fact that the car was washed without his permission. The argument became heated, resulting in Radebe stabbing one of the men with a knife in the neck and the back.
The man died on the scene.
Radebe said he wanted to hit the attacker with a fist, but the man took out a knife. The man wanted to stab him, but he managed to wrest the knife from the man and stabbed him.
Radebe jumped into his car and sped off.
“I realised I’d made a mistake and drove to the police station.”
A Benoni trial magistrate rejected Radebe’s version of self defence and convicted him of murder. He was given the minimum sentence - 15 years. On appeal Radebe said this was shockingly harsh. He said he was remorseful and he even paid the funeral costs of his victim.
Judge Janse van Nieuwenhuizen said it was a senseless killing. Radebe lost his temper and in a fit of rage fatally stabbed the victim.
The judge said Radebe was up to that point, a law abiding citizen. His only problem was he could not control his temper, but 15 years in jail was too harsh a punishment.
Pretoria News