On a working day like any other, Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) officers Alina Ngoasheng and Winnie Mokgolo were killed after a drunk driver’s car hurtled into them while they were doing a roadside check on 29 January 2018. A month earlier, their colleague, NI Nelani, had been killed also while conducting a roadside check in Johannesburg.

On Monday 20 January 2020, Albert Pretorius, the drunk driver behind the wheel of the vehicle which killed officers Ngoasheng and Mokgolo, was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment wholly suspended for five years on condition that he is not convicted of the same charge (culpable homicide) involving a motor vehicle committed during the period of suspension.

On the drunk driving charge, Pretorius was fined R10,000 or one year in prison. He was allowed to retain his driver’s licence.

“A further (2) years imprisonment is suspended for five years on condition that the accused is not convicted c/s 65(5)(b) Act 93/1996 committed during the period of suspension,” reads the judgment in part.

“His sentence is too light,” reads a JMPD statement released on Wednesday 22 January 2019. It is a slap on the wrist, if not worse. As far as can be established, Pretorius’s is the first case involving the killing of duty officers by a motorist to be concluded in a court of law in the past few years.

“The JMPD is very shocked to hear of the light sentence against a drunk driver on Monday 20 January 2020, who caused an accident in which two female JMPD officers died. He only received a R10,000 fine,” the JPMD statement reads.

JMPD chief David Tembe has requested that the court’s findings be made available to be shared with City of Johannesburg legal representatives for the case to be taken further.

Of the 48 Metro officers killed while on duty between 12 October and 2001 and 4 April 2018, 21 have died after being run over by motorists. In the space of less than a year, between February 2017 and January 2018, six officers were fatally run over by motorists in Johannesburg.

These numbers exclude officers who died on duty in ways other than being run over by motorists. A total of eight Metro officers were fatally run over between 2006 and 2012.

Noluthando Mboneni, 48, sustained fatal injuries after she was run over on 17 October 2019 while directing traffic at the intersection of the M1 and Marlboro Road in Sandton. There are no available records to show that the driver was punished or even that the matter ever came before court.

Prior to sentencing, Pretorius had appeared in the Alexandra Magistrate’s Court on 29 November 2019 when his case was postponed. JMPD spokesperson Wayne Minnaar said the court papers were with Tembe, who intends to appeal against the verdict.

JMPD members say they have lost count of how many times they have returned to lay wreaths at spots officers have been fatally run down. 

“It all begins with respect. Motorists undermine our jobs. If motorists respected us they wouldn’t be killing us like dogs. Imagine being killed like that — like your life doesn’t mean anything,” said an officer who asked not to be named for fear of victimisation.

“Sometimes you try and stop a driver and they carry on driving. This in itself can be deadly because we conduct traffic in co-ordination with colleagues in that area. Non-compliant drivers can put their own lives in danger,” said a colleague.

Asked about the effect of the deaths of their colleagues, the first officer said:

“It’s a struggle each time I put on that uniform because I constantly battle the thought of whether I will return home safely after my shift or not. I’d liken it to ongoing trauma.”

The second officer said enthusiasm for her job had waned:

“I no longer take up my shifts with the enthusiasm and vigour I used to because I have seen some of my colleagues die on duty. Each day when you go to work you have to battle the thought that this could happen to me anytime, so it’s not an easy job to do anymore.

“Alcohol is one of the major problems. We always have a challenge interacting with drunk drivers because they never want to listen to us, they want it to be the other way around which we cannot allow because we are working.”

The South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) said it had seen a spike in the number of JMPD officers killed on duty. Union spokesperson Papiki Mohale said in most instances the officers died from either being run over or shot.

The two deceased officers were not Pretorius’s only victims: along with Ngoasheng and Mokgolo, he had also run down another officer who is recovering from her injuries.

Samwu confirmed to Daily Maverick on Wednesday 22 January that the surviving officer’s injuries were so severe that doctors told her she will never work again.

“Her livelihood has been abruptly cut short,” said Mohale.

Reacting to the judgment, Mohale said:

“For us, it’s a miscarriage of justice. It’s unheard of that a drunk motorist kills officers and gets a suspended sentence. What message is the court sending out to the public? This will promote a culture of impunity which might be hard to control.”

Mohale said that while it was not for the union to improve safety measures for members, the union would encourage the JMPD to challenge the court’s decision. He said the union wants to see the JMPD act in the interests of the dead officers and that such incidents may intimidate and traumatise other officers.

“We encourage the JMPD to appeal this decision because we feel it’s incorrect. It does not serve the dead officers, neither does it serve their families nor their employers. It’s a miscarriage of justice.” DM