Success: Man sentenced to imprisonment after he kills woman in crash

Khumbulani Malinga was effectively sentenced to five years imprisonment in the Middelburg Regional Court today for the death of Lizel Visagie. Magistrate Andreas Masteroudes sentenced him to eight years imprisonment, but three years have been suspended for four years on the condition that Malinga does not commit a similar crime during this time. Malinga’s driver’s licence has also been suspended for 12 months.

AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit acts in accordance with a watching brief on behalf of Visagie’s mother, Marie Hamman, in this case. This follows after the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) initially withdrew the charges against Malinga due to an outstanding blood alcohol report and the Private Prosecution Unit wrote to the NPA and the police regarding the lack of prosecution.

Malinga was found guilty in October 2021 on a charge of culpable homicide. He plead guilty to this charge after he killed Visagie in March 2019. During the incident, Visagie pushed her then minor daughter out of the way of Malinga’s vehicle while he was busy fleeing from the traffic police. Her leg was severed during the incident and she passed away on the way to the hospital.

“We welcome this sentence, because the family deserves justice. AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit became involved in this case to ensure that justice is done and to ensure that those who transgress the law do not go unpunished. We hope that this sentence will enable the family to find peace,” says Wico Swanepoel, Prosecutor at AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit.