The Witbank Magistrates Court deals with local cases and more serious cases from the whole region which is also situated at the magistrate’s court in the Central Business District (CBD).
In B court many cases were heard on August 1 such as possession of drugs, reckless driving, theft assault, and driving without a licence. Many of the cases heard in B court are first appearances and the cases were remanded to later dates in August and September.
A case heard on August 4 was for theft however a warrant of arrest was issued for the accused who missed the initial court date. He was first arrested in Vosman earlier this year. Other cases handled were for possession of drug assault and assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm. Many were also new cases just entering the system.
However a sentencing hearing was also held in B Court that day. The accused Sonnyboy Jabu was apparently found guilty of culpable homicide during his trail that has been running since 2011. Not many specifics were given during the proceedings but apparently he was responsible for the death of three people during an incident near Vosman.
The man was sentenced to three years imprisonment or a R6000 fine which was wholly suspended for five years. This means that the sentence will only take affect if he is found guilty of the same crime within the five year probation period. Culpable homicide is a serious crime but according to Legalcity.net and online law firm explains the key difference,
“Culpable homicide, like murder is a form of unlawful killing. The crucial difference, however, is that if a person kills intentionally it is murder, whereas if he or she kills negligently it is culpable homicide.”
They also add the question that courts must answer before finding someone guilty of this crime,
“Before any court can make a finding of culpable homicide it must be proved by the prosecution that a reasonable man in the position of the accused would have foreseen that death could result from his actions.”
On August 5 the regional court which deals with cases such as armed robbery, and murder also saw some interesting developments. For July several murder and attempted murder cases appeared as well as people standing accused of rape. Due to the nature of the cases many of them that appeared throughout July have been in the system since as far back as 2011. Accused Michael Nephembeni appeared for murder, arson and attempted murder on July 1 and is set to be in court again on August 25.
Six people also appeared for murder and malicious damage to property. Five men and a woman stand accused and will reappear in August.
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