Pretoria - A man who killed a pedestrian three years ago while fleeing from the traffic police was this week sentenced to an effective five years’ imprisonment on a charge of culpable homicide.
Lizel Visagie died a hero in 2019, when she pushed her minor daughter out of the way of Khumbulani Malinga’s speeding BMW.
Her leg was severed during the incident, and she died on the way to the hospital.
Malinga was effectively sentenced to five years’ imprisonment over Visagie’s death in the Middelburg Regional Court on Monday.
Magistrate Andreas Masteroudes sentenced him to eight years’ imprisonment, but three years were suspended for four years on condition that Malinga does not commit a similar crime during this time.
Malinga’s drivers licence has also been suspended for 12 months.
AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit acted in accordance with a watching brief on behalf of Visagie’s mother, Marie Hamman, in the case.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) initially withdrew the charges against Malinga, due to an outstanding blood alcohol report.
AfriForum subsequently wrote to the NPA and the police regarding the lack of prosecution.
Malinga was found guilty of culpable homicide in October. He pleaded guilty to this charge after the death of Visagie in the March 2019 incident.
The traffic official from whom Malinga was fleeing earlier testified in aggravation of sentence about the horrific scene as well as the fact that Malinga skipped four red traffic lights after the traffic official had pulled him over.
Hamman testified on the irreversible effect that the loss of her daughter has had on her and her family’s lives.
Her daughter was financially assisting her.
She also said she missed her granddaughter, who had to witness the accident, as the child had to emigrate after her mother’s death to live with her father.
Malinga also testified and presented mitigating factors to the court.
He said the accident happened in a moment of negligence on his part, and he felt remorse for what he had done.
AfriForum welcomed the sentence and said the deceased’s family deserved justice.
“We became involved in this case to ensure that justice is done and that those who transgress the law do not go unpunished.
“We hope that this sentence will enable the family to find peace,” Wico Swanepoel, a prosecutor within the unit said.
Pretoria News