Hummer driver case postponed
2013-03-14 16:06
Pretoria - The case against a Hummer driver found guilty
of culpable homicide after crashing into three motorcyclists, killing two and
injuring one, was postponed in the Pretoria North Regional Court on Thursday.
Magistrate Ben van Schalkwyk postponed the matter until 22
April following a request by lawyer Makhi Nogaga, representing Zambian national
Indi Himalindi Chiyabu.
Nogaga told the court he was newly appointed to represent
Chiyabu and needed time to get transcripts of previous court sessions and to be
fully briefed on his client’s argument in the sentencing process.
Last month, the court found Chiyabu guilty on two charges
of culpable homicide and for leaving the scene of an accident and failing to
report it.
On Thursday, the court was scheduled to hear arguments in
mitigation and aggravation of Chiyabu’s sentence.
Nogaga said he was "incapacitated" to present
the arguments and would need time to prepare.
The defence had received a probation report only on
Thursday morning, he said.
State prosecutor Tania Carstens said she understood the
defence’s position and did not oppose the request for a postponement.
However, she said Thursday’s request for a postponement
should be the last as there were many parties hoping for the closure of the
case.
"We have a lot of families and friends all concerned
with this matter. It is important that we finalise this matter, even for the
accused. We also know that the matter has attracted a lot of media
attention," she said.
Motorcyclists killed
Numerous members of the Christian Motorcyclists
Association SA were in the packed courtroom on Thursday.
Chiyabu crashed into the motorcyclists on Rachel de Beer
Road in Pretoria in October 2010.
The Hummer caught fire and Chiyabu fled the scene.
He handed himself over to police only a few days later.
Two of the motorcycles also caught fire after the
collision.
Pieter Coetzee and JP Kruger, who were members of the
Christian Motorcyclists Association SA, died at the scene.
Coetzee's son Pieter jnr was seriously injured, losing a
leg in the accident.
In previous proceedings, Van Schalkwyk said that in his
opinion the motorcyclists could not have avoided the Hummer and Chiyabu was
entirely responsible for the crash.
- SAPA
