'A SLAP ON THE WRIST'

A Zimbabwean national convicted of a hit-and-run incident that killed three young people in Kimberley has sparked outrage in the community due to what many consider a lenient sentence.

- SANDI KWON HOO

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.