A 25-year-old Windhoek resident who was last week convicted of culpable homicide following a July 2015 crash that claimed the lives of three people, including a police officer, has been released on bail by the regional court where his case was transferred to for sentencing.
Morné Mouton posted bail of N$5 000 pending the court’s ruling on whether he should be sentenced by the same court. Magistrate Leopold Hangalo granted Mouton bail, saying the State failed to convince the court why he should be remanded in police custody while the court reaches its verdict.
During his appearance yesterday, Mouton’s lawyer Sisa Namandje made an application for the court to review magistrate Vanessa Stanley’s decision to send Mouton’s case for sentencing to the regional court.
“With all due respect to the magistrate, although three lives were lost, they were lost in a single accident – that would make it a single count of culpable homicide. So, there was no need for us to come to this court,” Namandje argued.
Last week, Stanley convicted Mouton on the charge of culpable homicide and said in her view the other two counts amounted to a duplication of that charge. Mouton was on trial on charges of culpable homicide, driving under the influence of alcohol and reckless or negligent driving.
Following the conviction, the court ordered Mouton’s case to be transferred to the regional court for sentencing, as it does not have the jurisdiction to give a sentence of more than five years for the charge of culpable homicide.
It was Namandje’s submission should the regional court decide to pass sentence, they should consider a non-custodial sentence.
The State, which was represented by Fillemon Nyau, sought for the court to give a sentence of five years imprisonment. Magistrate Hangalo informed the court that he will need time to study the record for him to give judgement in the matter. He postponed the case to 3 February.
At the start of his trial in January 2018, Mouton denied guilt on all charges that emanated from a gruesome accident which resulted in the death of police officer Manfred Gaoseb (35) and two civilians, namely Werner Simon (22) and Joshua Ngenokesho (age unknown).
The incident took place on 4 July 2015 in Windhoek’s Sam Nujoma Drive. State witnesses who took the stand during the trial testified - Mouton who was a mere teenager at the time - bumped into a stationary vehicle in Sam Nujoma Drive that was pulled over by the police.
The witnesses testified that as the officers were busy interrogating the unknown men in the vehicle, they noticed an approaching grey VW Polo vehicle that was being driven at a high-speed in their direction.
It is alleged Mouton was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the incident, according to witnesses. However, in his defence, Mouton denied such allegations. He testified that he was not under the influence of alcohol nor was he speeding when he caused the accident.
-mamakali@nepc.com.na