The state did not initiate the deal that saw former Blue Bulls rugby player Jacobus “Bees” Roux being ordered to pay R750 000 to the family of the metro police officer who was killed in a fight with him in August last year.
The National Director of the Public Prosecutions, advocate Menzi Simelane, said on Friday during a lecture at the University of Pretoria that Roux had contacted metro police officer Sergeant Ntshimane Johannes Mogale’s family and initially made an offer of R250 000.
This was then increased to R750 000 and according to Simelane the wife of Mogale had written to him asking him to accept the deal.
Roux was charged with the murder after beating Mogale, 38, to death.
The incident took place after Mogale apparently pulled Roux over for allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol.
Roux said in an affidavit placed before court during his bail application that he had assaulted Mogale while defending himself against theft and attempted robbery by Mogale, and that he would plead not guilty to a murder charge.
Simelane said that his office had simply requested that R750 000 become an order of the court in case Roux reneged on his offer to the family.
Roux, he said, was happy for it to become an order of the court.
Simelane said the biggest difficulty for the prosecution was whether to pursue a case of murder against Roux.
State witnesses had told police that the moment Roux had noticed that Mogale was no longer moving he had sought to assist him and called an ambulance.
“His behaviour suggested someone who did not have intention (to murder). So our own state witnesses that we were going to lead (in court) to prove a (murder) case against him were arguing a (culpable homicide) case that we weren’t arguing.”
He said that it would have been difficult for the state to successfully argue in favour of a prison sentence for Roux on a culpable homicide conviction.
Apart from the R750 000 being an order of the court, Roux was given a five-year suspended sentence on charges of culpable homicide and drunken driving by Judge Nomonde Mngqibisa-Thusi. - Sapa