Pretoria - A police constable is facing Christmas in jail after a shooting incident sparked by children accidentally kicking a ball into his brother's yard.
Elijah Ledwaba was sentenced to five years' imprisonment in 2013 by the Evander Regional Court for culpable homicide after he shot the father-in-law of his brother's neighbour with his service pistol.
Paul Viviers died about two weeks after the incident.
Ledwaba was released on bail pending his appeal to the high court in Pretoria, but will now have to report to jail before Christmas after he lost his appeal last week.
Ledwaba said he had acted in self-defence after Viviers beat him with a sjambok, but Judge Winston Msimeki said he overstepped the bounds of self-defence.
On March 13, 2011, Ledwaba went to his brother's home to fetch some clothes. He was on his way to OR Tambo International Airport and in a hurry.
While rushing to his car, he was approached by his brother's neighbour, Frans Viviers, who asked him to hand back a ball which his children had kicked over the wall.
Instead of handing the ball back, Ledwaba said he was in a hurry and drove off, returning soon after to collect his wallet.
Frans, meanwhile, went into his neighbour's yard to try to retrieve the ball himself.
He told the court that he was armed with a sjambok as his neighbour had big dogs.
An argument between the two ensued and Frans's father-in-law came out to see what was going on. Frans hit Ledwaba with the sjambok and Ledwaba drew his firearm and shot Frans's father-in-law, Paul.
Judge Msimeki said that once Ledwaba had the gun in his hands, he had the upper hand and there was no longer a threat to which he had to defend himself.
He had clearly exceeded the limits of private defence and, as a result, acted unlawfully, the judge said.