A Northern Cape judge handed a four-year jail sentence to a man who murdered his sister, saying he deviated from the minimum sentence because the man is old, was drunk at the time, and had been provoked by his sister’s conduct.
The judge said the circumstances around the murder did not fall within what the legislature intended to classify as “femicide”.
Herman Hermanus Du Toit, 64, was handed eight years imprisonment at the Kimberley high court by judge president Pule Tlaletsi, but four years of the sentence were suspended for five years on condition that he is not convicted of a similar offence during the period of suspension.
Mojalefa Senokoatsane, spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority in the Northern Cape, said Du Toit and his 58-year-old sister Ellen Lorraine Botha were living together in New Park, Kimberley, at the time of the incident.
In the early hours of February 16 2020, W/O Henk van der Merwe received a call from Du Toit, who reported that he had assaulted his sister and that she was unresponsive.
Police responded immediately and found the deceased inside the flat, where she was declared dead on the scene.
A postmortem examination revealed that Botha died as a result of aspiration of blood due to blunt force trauma. ”The pathologist further noted damage to the hyoid bone, consistent with strangulation," said Senokotsoane.
Du Toit pleaded guilty and was convicted of murder.
During aggravation of sentence, state advocate Mary-Ann Englebrecht argued that a sentence of 18 years’ imprisonment was appropriate, citing the severity of the injuries, the violence reflected in the postmortem findings, the deceased’s age and gender, and the breach of trust inherent in the familial relationship.
“However, the court found that substantial and compelling circumstances justified deviating from the prescribed minimum sentence,” Senokotsoane said.
However, the court found that substantial and compelling circumstances justified deviating from the prescribed minimum sentence
— Mojalefa Senokoatsane, spokesperson for the NPA in the Northern Cape
“These included the accused’s age, his intoxication at the time of the incident, the fact that he had not reoffended in the years since the murder, and that he had been provoked by the deceased’s conduct.
“Du Toit was also declared unfit to possess a firearm,” Senokotsoane said.
He said the NPA remains committed to pursuing justice for victims of violent crime and to ensuring that offenders are held fully accountable.
“The sanctity of human life can never be overstated, and the NPA will continue prosecuting these cases vigorously to deter would-be offenders and promote a safer society,” he said.
Sowetan
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