A month after his last court appearance Emmanuel Tshabalala, the father who accidentally shot and killed his son in June this year, was back in the Lenasia Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday facing a charge of murder.
Tshabalala and his legal team are seeking a lesser charge because of the way the incident took place.
Speaking to City Press, Tshabalala’s lawyer Chewe Machaka said that: “The charge sheet said murder. We had not seen that before. We had just heard it from the advocate who is allocated to this case.”
Machaka said that he was only able to view Tshabalala’s docket file during his last court appearance on November 6.
“[Today] we requested the matter to be adjourned so as to consider the possibility of pleading on a lesser charge of culpable homicide,” he said.
Tshabalala killed his teenage son, Luyanda, earlier this year outside the Fred Norman Secondary School in Ennerdale after he mistook him for a hijacker.
During his first appearance in court, Tshabalala was let out on a warning with no bail.
Machaka explained: “The court let him out on free bail. They felt that anything else would subject him to another kind of punishment, especially after the way the incident took place. He was released on his own cognisance. The only condition was that he would come back to court whenever he was required to.”
Tshabalala had dropped his son off at the school for evening classes and subsequently fell asleep in his car while waiting for his son. After class Luyanda tried to wake his father up, but Tshabalala was startled after he thought that someone was tampering with the car and the 51-year-old father accidentally shot him thinking his life was in danger.
Read: Dad ‘not to blame’ for shooting son
Machaka is positive about his clients chances of getting a lesser charge.
“In my opinion, even if we proceed with the murder charge, I believe the court will indulge him the full measure of mercy. The court will be lenient because of the way it all happened.”
“Based on the forensic evidence, as well as statements of witnesses, we could get a lesser charge which does not attract a minimum sentence,” he said.
Witnesses will include students and teachers who were present that night and are expected to share details of what transpired following the shooting.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson, Luvuyo Mfaku told City Press that they could not comment on the matter until after judgment had been handed down.
According to Machaka, his team will meet with the state to finalise the details of the case before the next court appearance on February 12 2019.