A man who, in a fit of rage, used his vehicle as a weapon to commit murder, has lost his bid to appeal against his murder and attempted murder convictions.
Mbuyiselo Mphetsheni turned to the high court, sitting in Kimberley, to appeal his convictions and his effective 17 year jail sentence. He partially succeeded when the court reduced the sentence to 15 years.
The lower court had earlier convicted him of murder, attempted murder and contravention of the Road Traffic Act as he had failed to assist the people he had hit and had not reported the accident to the police.
Motse Mooki, who had hid behind a tree, had later died of his injuries, while Priscilla Mooki had been knocked down and injured.
The court was told that earlier in the day of the incident, Mphetsheni’s son had been involved in a fight with another boy in the street.
A witness, Thobile Peter, said he had seen Mphetsheni’s son assaulting the other boy. When Peter had tried to intervene, the appellant’s son had sworn at him and Peter had slapped him once before apologising to him.
The appellant’s son had then said his father was well known in the community. Later, as Peter had watched soccer at his wife’s parental home, the furious appellant, accompanied by his son, had confronted them.
He had demanded to know who had slapped his son. His son had pointed out Peter. The appellant had been enraged and in a fighting mood. Peter had stood up and his wife had intervened by standing between the appellant and Peter.
They had suggested to Mpetsheni that he return the next day when he was calmer. He had ignored them and insulted Peter’s wife. He had been subsequently ordered to leave the house.
Witnesses said Mphetsheni had jumped into his car and revved the vehicle. Instead of turning into the main road in front of the house to leave, he had sped towards a veld, the vehicle’s tyres spinning, and had hit the two victims.
As the appellant had sped off, Eugene Mooki, a family member of the deceased, had run behind his vehicle, flagging him to stop but he had continued driving.
A neighbour testified that the vehicle had first reversed before it had driven over the complainant’s leg. The driver had reversed again and knocked down the deceased who had been next to a tree, before he had sped away.
In confirming the convictions, Judge Mpho Mamosebo said the uncontroverted evidence of the witnesses, about how the two has been knocked down by the vehicle, was that the appellant had boarded his vehicle, struggled to put it in the right gear, revved it, slightly reversed and turned the wheels slightly to the right.
That had resulted in the appellant’s vehicle injuring the complainant’s right leg and colliding with the deceased who had sought refuge behind a small tree. The appellant had not stopped to ascertain if there had been any injuries.
It was found that if the enraged Mphetsheni had turned into the main road and did not suddenly changed direction, the accident would not have happened.
“The change in direction, coupled with his rage for an earlier assault on his son, marks his intention when he confronted the Mooki family. It remains inexplicable why the appellant elected to confront the family instead of bringing charges at the police station directly,” the judge said.
She added that it was inexplicable why the appellant had not testified when damning evidence presented before the trial court had called for an answer.
The judge said the evidence of the witnesses painted a picture of the appellant as Goliath who was seeking to avenge the assault on his son.
“When he confronted the witnesses, he was on a frolic of his own,” the judge said.
Pretoria News