The accused in the death of Boksburg resident Elsie Watkins (42) two years ago, was on Friday (April 13) sentenced to a R20 000 fine or three years imprisonment plus a further three years, suspended for five years.
Musi Walter Manaka (34), of Germiston, was found guilty of culpable homicide on February 9, for causing the death of Elsie in the early hours of May 14, 2016, by driving over her.
At the time she stood on the grass verge outside their home with her dad, John Watkins, who was taking photographs on her cellphone of a bakkie which had, minutes before, driven through their garden wall.
- Shock
The freak incident unfolded at around 1am that rainy morning when the driver of the bakkie lost control of the vehicle and ploughed through the Watkins’ garden wall, on the corner of North Rand and Pretoria roads.
The driver of the bakkie, Riaan Bosch, fled the scene and later testified in court that he had lost control due to the weather conditions and that he’d left the scene because he was in shock and wanted to get home to get his phone.
Shortly after Bosch had hit the wall, Manaka lost control of his Hyundai i20 and careered into the accident scene where Elsie, her dad, and an officer from a local security company were standing.
Elsie’s body was found under Manaka’s car. Paramedics declared her dead on the scene.
Manaka was also charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and reckless and negligent driving but was not convicted on these charges.
Throughout the trial, which only commenced late last year, Manaka maintained his car didn’t hit anybody and even testified that he thought the driver of the bakkie could have been responsible for Elsie’s death.
He said he was not drunk and had been driving responsibly at the speed limit of 60kmp/h.
- Tears
Five victim impact statements were presented by state prosecutor Taschnee Ramschuran, each depicting the emotional, physical and financial strain the death of Elsie has had on family members.
Highly emotional and unable to hold back his tears, Elsie’s father presented his victim impact statement from the witness stand.
He testified that since the accident he has become fearful and gets scared when he hears noises at night.
“I am not myself anymore. For 21 years I sat at breakfast with her (Elsie) and now she isn’t there.
“You can’t put a plaster on my pain. Her death is my life sentence and it is very hard to go on day-for-day without her,” Watkins said.
When asked by Manaka’s attorney what he thought a fitting sentence would be, Watkins said he should be jailed so that he can sit and think about what he has done.
“I think he needs to get a heavy sentence,” Watkins said.
- Imprisonment
Just before the sentence was handed down, Ramschuran concluded that Manaka had shown no remorse throughout the trial, didn’t take the proceedings seriously and maintained his innocence throughout.
She proposed direct imprisonment as the only fitting sentence.
In handing down judgement, magistrate Emmanuel Magampa said it was clear from the victim impact statements and the testimony of John Watkins that Elsie’s death has had an enormous impact on the family’s daily lives.
“They are very aggrieved and no sentence I mete out will be appropriate,” Magampa said.
He said the court accepted that the weather conditions on the morning in question contributed to Manaka losing control of his car as another vehicle had already lost control and hit the wall of the Watkins’ property.
Magampa handed down the judgement, explaining that the five-year suspension of the additional three years were on condition that Manaka is not again found guilty of culpable homicide in an incident in which he has been driving a car.
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