‘A slap on the wrist’: Outrage over sentence in hit-and-run case that claimed three young lives

A WAVE of shock and outrage has swept through the community following what many have described as a lenient sentence handed to a Zimbabwean national convicted in a hit-and-run incident and subsequent collision that claimed the lives of three young people in Kimberley.

The trial, held in the Kimberley Magistrate’s Court, was concluded within just three days, from July 7 to 9.

The tragic chain of events unfolded on June 30, 2024, when 16-year-old promising cricket player Omphile Jonas was fatally struck while crossing the road near the intersection of Barkly Road and Seleke Street.

Moments later, the same vehicle crashed into a minibus taxi transporting local members of the Patriotic Alliance (PA), leaving Mikayla Booysen, 19, and Cavino Matthews, 24, critically injured. Both later died in the hospital from multiple injuries.

The accused, Collin Mhlanga, claimed he was fleeing from a taxi driver who had threatened to “catch and burn him”. He maintained that he was attempting to drive to the police station when the collisions occurred.

Magistrate Elvis Morolong sentenced Mhlanga to an effective eight years’ imprisonment and ordered that he be deported upon completion of his sentence.

He was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment for culpable homicide. The two murder charges were reduced to culpable homicide, for which he received an additional seven-year sentence, suspended for two years on condition that he is not convicted of a similar offence during the suspension period. These sentences will run concurrently.

He was also sentenced to three years’ imprisonment for failing to assist at the scene of an accident, and fined R600 or two months’ imprisonment for contravening the Immigration Act by entering South Africa without a valid permit. These two sentences will also run concurrently with each other, but not concurrently with the culpable homicide sentence, resulting in an effective eight years’ imprisonment.

Mhlanga was acquitted on the charge of drunken driving, despite eyewitnesses stating that he had consumed alcohol and that there were beer bottles inside the Nissan Navara bakkie he was “driving at high speed”. 

A doctor who examined him after the crash told the Kimberley Magistrate’s Court that he appeared “moderately drunk” and struggled to recall the events of the incident. “He indicated that he had consumed 500 millilitres of vodka and one beer,” she said.

Mhlanga’s legal representative, Advocate Malatji, argued that her client feared for his life and was being pursued by a taxi.

“He sped off with the intention of driving to the police station. As he approached the robot, he collided with another taxi that was in front of him,” said Malatji.

She pointed out that if her client's eyes were bloodshot, it did not mean that he was inebriated.

Eyewitness Kediametsi Talis testified that Mhlanga had consumed half a glass of Smirnoff vodka earlier that day at a sports field in Lerato Park. 

“He only drank a little bit. I was travelling with my cousin Shelia Talis and the accused, who is her boyfriend. We were on our way home. He failed to stop at the Homelite stop sign and collided with something at the four-way. I heard a bang. We asked him to stop so that we could see what he had bumped into. He told us to look through the back as we were riding over metal speed bumps. I could not see due to the manner in which he was driving. The accused never slowed down or stopped until we collided with a taxi. I lost consciousness and I woke up in the hospital.”

Another witness, motorist Ramano Raaf, told the court he saw the bakkie speeding before the crash.

“The bakkie was in the road while the taxi was lying on its side on the pavement. The driver got out of the driver’s seat in front and went to the back seat. He looked drunk, his eyes were bloodshot and his face was swollen. He was staggering when he got out of the car and had to hold onto the door. The two women inside the vehicle were injured.” 

He told State prosecutor Katlego Thothela that he noticed two beer bottles on the front passenger seat. 

'Unforgivable'

The families of the victims expressed disappointment and disbelief at the sentencing.

Omphemese Jonas, mother of Omphile, believed that the sentence should be challenged on appeal.

“What the accused did was unforgivable. My son Omphile Jonas was supposed to be playing cricket instead of lying in a grave. Is an innocent child’s life only worth a five-year sentence? He will probably be released after serving a portion of his sentence.” 

She added that while Mhlanga had written a letter of apology to the family, she was not convinced that he was genuinely remorseful.

“If he was truly sorry for what he did, why did he fail to stop at the accident scene?” 

PA leader Gayton McKenzie, who attended the first day of the trial and visited the bereaved families, said the accused deserved the death penalty.

“The families have endured trauma no one should go through. I personally knew the two young PA members,” he added. 

PA provincial leader Sharifa Ferris also condemned the outcome.

“A sentence that matches the severity of the crime would have brought a measure of comfort to the family of the deceased, whereas the accused has been given a mere slap on the wrist. Illegal foreign nationals should not be entitled to more rights and privileges than South African citizens,” she said.