Stellenbosch guard ‘hit-and-run’: Accused submits plea proposal

A man caught on CCTV driving over security guard Mzwanele Wellem in Stellenbosch has submitted a plea and sentence proposal to the State, it emerged in the Stellenbosch Regional Court on Thursday.

Johan Steyn’s lawyer, Bruce Hendricks, confirmed to News24 outside court that the proposal set out the circumstances surrounding the incident at Die Boord shopping complex on April 30, as well as his personal circumstances.

“[This is] in order to have the matter finalised.”

Steyn, 39, made a brief appearance in the court on Thursday morning when the matter was postponed for a month.

The court heard that this was for the director of public prosecutions to indicate if the state would accept the plea in terms of Section 105 of the Criminal Procedure Act.

Steyn, who is out on R2,000 bail, faces an attempted murder charge, with an alternative charge of assault with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

The court was previously advised that Steyn would plead not guilty.

In an affidavit in his bail application, he said: “It is and has always been my contention that I have not committed any offence as alleged in this matter.”

Wellem had only been working at the shopping complex for a month when the incident happened.

He told MatieMedia that his life would never be the same again and that the scars he bore were a reminder of what had happened.

In the video, which went viral on social media, the driver of a white bakkie could be seen talking to a security guard outside the shopping complex.

The guard gestured to the driver to not drive in his intended direction, seemingly indicating that it was a one-way road.

The interaction went on for a few seconds before the driver ran over the security guard in full view of the people in the parking lot.

One onlooker tried to stop the vehicle, which could be seen speeding off, leaving the guard motionless on the ground.

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