Drunk driver gets 10 years for killing joggers

A man who ran over and killed two young joggers while driving under the influence has been sentenced to an effective 10 years in prison.

Durban - The family of one of two joggers killed in their prime were deeply disappointed with the effective 10-year sentence given on Tuesday to the drunk driver who knocked them down in Dalton.

After running over Sithabile Mkhasibe, 27, and her boyfriend, Xolani Nxele, 31 - both qualified engineers - on February 26, Mcabango Hlongwa, 37, continued to drive with Nxele’s body on the bonnet and Mkhasibe’s against the windscreen.

Nxele’s body eventually slid off the bonnet and Hlongwa dumped Mkhasibe’s in a sugar cane plantation.

Hlongwa later handed himself in to police, but could not tell exactly where the body was. He was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, for which he received a jail sentence of one year, defeating the ends of justice, for which he got three years, and two counts of culpable homicide, for which he got five years each. The sentences, handed down In the Pietermaritzburg Magistrate’s Court, were ordered to run concurrently, amounting to 10 years.

Mkhasibe’s sister, Nomcebo Nkabinde, said the family was hoping that Hlongwa would be handed a life sentence. She said justice had not been served, and her mother would speak to her attorney to determine if anything could be done about it.

Her brother, Msawenkosi Mkhasibe, said that while they understood that no sentence could bring back the couple, Hlongwa’s punishment was insufficient.

Nxele’s family left immediately after sentencing, before the media could approach them for comment.

The director of public prosecutions, advocate Moipone Noko, said: “We respect the finding of the court in passing sentence.”

She added that it was premature to comment on whether the sentence would be appealed against without having read the record.

In sentencing, magistrate Mishy Singh said that driving without a licence and under the influence of alcohol with two passengers was unacceptable. She said Hlongwa had robbed the couple of their future together. Both were engineers, in the prime of their lives, and financially supported their families.

Hlongwa, who had worked on a farm earning R2 700 a month, had pleaded guilty to the counts.

Prosecutor Ricky van Wyk said since Hlongwa had indicated from the onset that he intended to plead guilty, his having a licence was not properly investigated, which was why he had not been charged for that.

The magistrate said it should have been the first count Hlongwa faced and he was fortunate the State had failed charge him on that count.

Hlongwa said in his plea that on February 26 he drove his Honda Ballade after drinking two quarts of Castle Stout beer. He had two passengers and they were on their way to fetch a friend from Dalton who was stranded. Negotiating a bend in the main road in Dalton, he lost control of the vehicle and it strayed to the side of the road designated for pedestrians. He drove into the couple, and was “shocked”.

He continued driving, with Mkhasibe’s body on the bonnet. Hlongwa added he then concealed her body in a sugar cane plantation. He admitted that he should have stopped and notified the police.

Mkhasibe’s decomposed body was found five days later.

Hlongwa said he had failed to keep a proper lookout while driving and his actions that day were not those of a reasonable man. He had no defence for his actions.

The magistrate said the couple had died terrible deaths.

“It is most horrific to know that her body was found four to five days later as a result of your actions.”

After sentencing, Hlongwa said he had come up with money to pay the families as compensation. He wanted to pay a fine and he wanted bail.

The magistrate told him the case was over and he had to apply for leave to appeal, and if that was granted, he could bring a formal bail application. She told him to speak to his attorney about compensation.

Msawenkosi Mkhasibe said her family was from Mooi River, and Nxele’s, Pinetown. Sithabile Mkhasibe had left her job in Port Elizabeth in December and was looking for work in the province so she could be close to her family. Nxele worked for a company in Dalton. She and Nxele had planned to marry and live in Pietermaritzburg.

sharika.regchand@inl.co.za

The Mercury