No jail for granny assault
Magistrate passes suspended sentence for beating Hope
FORMER Lily Kirchmann’s caregiver Tshibangu Kolonji was found guilty of common assault by the East London Regional Court yesterday and sentenced to six months’ imprisonment, suspended for three years.
Regional Court magistrate Sadia Jacobs did not mince her words when she told the court the state had failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Kolonji had intended to cause grievous bodily harm when he assaulted 84-year-old Hope Shepherd on January 30 2015.
“From the evidence presented it is clear that Mr Kolonji’s conduct fell short of what was expected from a caregiver.
“The fact that he acted in a manner that he saw other people did, does not excuse his conduct because two wrongs do not constitute a right, it remains wrong.”
Jacobs continued to say she was not blind to the fact Kolonji was being tried for a single incident and there was no evidence of a pattern of his conduct.
“No evidence was presented that Mrs Shepherd sustained bodily harm injuries as indicated.
“I am however satisfied that your conduct impaired the bodily integrity of Mrs Shepherd.
Kolonji, 21, was on trial on charges of contravening the Older Persons Act of 2006 and assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm. He had earlier pleaded not guilty to the charges.
He was caught on camera assaulting Shepherd.
Shepherd’s daughter Bernice Robertson had hidden a camera in her mother’s room when she suspected that she was being abused during her R17 000-amonth stay in the home.
Kolonji’s Legal Aid attorney and public defender, Mtimkhulu Mpahlwa, begged the magistrate to spare him from prison.
“Your worship, indeed this is a serious offence which is prevalent in our region but he is a young man who still lives with his mother and has no children.
“Before today, he had no previous conviction or a criminal record. Prison would not be a suitable environment for him,” Mpahlwa said, adding that Kolonji had apologised to Shepherd’s family.
Kolonji’s sentencing follows that of another Lily Kirchmann caregiver, Ncediswa Mkenkcele, who was sentenced to an effective eight-year imprisonment in the East London Regional Court on March 30. Mkenkcele was also caught on camera severely beating Shepherd. — zwangam@ dispatch. co.za