Johannesburg - Oscar Pistorius will have to wait until next week to learn his fate as sentencing is expected to be handed down on Tuesday in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria.
While State prosecutor Gerrie Nel has argued the athlete should serve at least 10 years in jail for killing his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, Pistorius’s defence lawyer Barry Roux has called on Judge Thokozile Masipa to hand down a “community-based sentence”. Pistorius was convicted of culpable homicide last month after shooting dead Steenkamp last year, but was cleared of murder
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South Africa has seen a number of high-profile culpable homicide cases in the last few years. With Oscar’s sentence looming, the Saturday Star has taken a look at several high-profile culpable homicide cases to get some insights.
Ashley Callie: Callie, known as Leone Haines in Isidingo, was killed in a head-on car crash in February 2008. She was on her way home from the Pirelli Calendar launch when her Smart car collided with a Renault on the corner of 4th Avenue and Tana road in Linden, Joburg.
The man accused of causing her death, 22-year-old Nico Pretorius, who was behind the wheel of the Renault, was initially charged with culpable homicide and reckless and negligent driving. But a few months later the charges were withdrawn after the State could no longer prove its case.
Bees Roux: In August 2010, Blue Bulls rugby player Roux was pulled over by Metro police officer Sergeant Ntshimane Johannes Mogale. An altercation between the two resulted in the death of Mogale. Roux was charged with murder but argued he acted in self defence after Mogale attempted to rob him. In 2011, the 29-year-old reached a plea bargain agreement with the State and avoided jail time. He received a five-year suspended sentence.
Bryce Moon: Former Bafana Bafana star Moon was fined R60 000 for running over and killing a domestic worker and his driver’s licence was suspended for six months. The 27-year-old Bidvest Wits player was convicted of culpable homicide for the June 2009 incident in which Zimbabwean Mavis Ncube died. The fact Moon is a professional football player saved him from receiving the harshest sentence for culpable homicide.
Jacob Humphreys: Cape Town driver Humphreys was driving a taxi, when it collided with a train at the Buttskop level crossing in Blackheath in August 2010, killing 10 children.
Originally Humphreys was charged with murder and sentenced to 20 years after the Western Cape High Court found that Humphreys had blatantly disregarded the law when he zig-zagged around the lowered booms.
Humphreys then took his case to the Supreme Court of Appeal, which overturned the initial charge and sentence. He was then charged with culpable homicide and given eight years behind bars.
Sibusiso Langa: Langa was accused of killing six joggers with his SUV in Midrand three years ago. Judge Bert Bam found Langa guilty on five counts of culpable homicide and one of drink-driving and he was jailed for 12 years
The judge rejected Langa’s claim that the accident had taken place on his side of the road and that the joggers had run into the path of his Mercedes-Benz ML500 on Lever Road, Midrand, on October 22 2011.
He rejected Langa’s claim that he only had two light beers while socialising with his friends until the early morning hours at a restaurant before the accident.
Saturday Star