15 years for deliberate head-on crash

A TAXI driver was sentenced to 15 years in jail for deliberately ramming a sedan that he believed was a “pirate” taxi.

Two people were killed and two injured in the head-on collision in April 2011. Luvuyo Badi, 25, of Stutterheim, was on the wrong side of the road. He was convicted of two counts of murder and two of attempted murder.

According to the charge sheet Badi, 25, first saw Nikile Booi driving near the King William’s Town turn-off on the N6. As Booi drove towards Stutterheim Badi tailed him, trying to ram him from behind. Booi drove towards the traffic department and lost Badi.

The court heard Badi turned into another street to look for him and saw Booi driving towards him.

At high speed Badi swerved into the other lane and drove into Booi, killing him and passenger Akhona Nokaswana on impact. Nosiphiwo Ludziya, who has since died, and Adelaide Ellis were badly injured. Badi had pleaded not guilty. Defence attorney Xoliswa Bacela said the state had failed to prove Badi intended the killings and its case had contradictions.

But yesterday magistrate Ignatius Kitching found Badi’s actions were deliberate and wilful.

Badi had three passengers in his car and they were all in the taxi industry. “The court is satisfied that the deceased was bumped by the accused deliberately. There is nothing Mr Booi could have done to avoid the collision.

“The accused did not want to talk to the deceased, he wanted to scare him. [Badi] and his friends went out that day to hunt illegal taxis. He was the sole cause of that fatal crash,” said Kitching.

“This was not negligent or reckless driving, it was a voluntary act of destruction. A motor vehicle in the hands of such a driver is a lethal weapon,” he added.

In mitigation, Bacela said her client was sorry for the loss of life and asked the court to be lenient.

State prosecutor Mzameli Koliwe called Booi’s widow to the stand. She was pregnant when her husband died. “Instead of showing remorse, [Badi] decided to mislead the court. To hear him say sorry is meaningless,” Koliwe said.

Kitching said the taxi industry was notorious for violence and the court had a duty to warn would-be offenders. “The carnage on our roads is bad [enough]. We don’t need people who do it deliberately.”

Kitching took the murder counts together for sentencing and gave him 15 years in jail for them.

The attempted murder counts were also taken together and Badi was sentenced to 10 years in jail.

They will run concurrently. —