George woman to be sentenced for child’s death

With her uncontrollable weeping in court as she listened to her legal representative’s closing arguments yesterday, one could assume that Annari Cronjé’s remorse is deep and sincere.

Cronjé (40), who pleaded guilty to culpable homicide after the municipal truck she was driving hit and killed Jelandré Afrika (8) on the pavement in Rosedale in 2021, appeared in the George Magistrate’s Court again yesterday where the state and defence’s closing arguments were presented before sentencing.

On Monday, August 16, Afrika, her cousin, and three friends were on their way home from the shop when she ended up under the wheel of the truck.

Afrika died on the scene.

Cronjé pleaded guilty to a charge of culpable homicide on October 4. Her statement was read into the record by her legal representative Winston Jansen.

Afrika was one of a set of twins and the youngest of six children.

During closing arguments, Jansen said that Cronjé showed extreme remorse from the beginning, took responsibility for her actions, and was fully transparent with the court about what happened. He reiterated that this was not a death with intent and suggested correctional supervision as a fitting sentence.

“This is not a murder as there was no element of intent. This was an accident which my client did not run away from. Society would want a harsher punishment because there was a death of a child, but she didn’t set out to kill anyone, especially not a child. The sentence should serve the public interest, not public opinion,” Jansen said.

“She has genuine repentance from the onset and has shown sincere remorse. She accepts that a child died due to her negligent action and is fully aware of the consequences of pleading guilty,” he continued.

Jansen also said that an important factor for the court to consider during sentencing is that Cronjé is the sole provider for her two children. She also offered to pay R50 000 for restitution.

He said that by offering to pay she is not putting a price on the child, but is doing it out of remorse and to offer some form of compensation to the family.

In her statement, Cronjé said she acknowledges that she was negligent and should have taken the turn wider to avoid the sidewalk on which Jelandré was walking.

She stated that she saw the children and hooted. One of the children stopped, and she continued driving until she heard people screaming and realised what had happened.

The state, represented by Vandana Premchand, said the trauma that the family is experiencing is evident after their testimonies earlier in court. She said that this was a serious offence and reminded the court about the misconduct on our roads and the massive responsibility it is to drive a vehicle.

She however agreed with Jansen by saying that understandably the community is upset, but a sentence should not satisfy public opinion.

“Her actions caused a massive shift in their [Jelandré’s family] lives. It caused extreme trauma that will not disappear in a few years from now,” said Premchand.

However, she agreed with Jansen that a custodial sentence would not be fit for the accused.

Magistrate Riaan Kamfer postponed the case to November 21 for sentencing.