“You took a husband from a wife, a father from his children. What you did is irreversible.” Those are the words Zingisile Nikelo heard in the Grahamstown Magistrate's Court on Monday, as he was sentenced to five years in jail for the death of runner, David Hanton.
“You took a husband from a wife, a father from his children. What you did is irreversible.” Those are the words Zingisile Nikelo heard in the Grahamstown Magistrate's Court on Monday, as he was sentenced to five years in jail for the death of runner, David Hanton.
Magistrate Louis Claassen said the former 6 SA Infantry Batallion lance corporal, who in May was found guilty of culpable homicide, had given questionable evidence that couldn't be trusted. Nikelo, returning with colleagues from the Grahamstown army base, drove into Hanton, out on a training run on the Cradock Road with a friend, in April last year. Hanton died at the scene.
Nikelo left Grahamstown soon after the accident and joined the 14 SA Infantry Batallion in Mthatha. His jail sentence, together with the revocation of his driving licence, came in the face of glowing testimony from his wife. "He [Nikelo] was very responsible at home and took good care of his family.
His siblings take advantage of his good nature," said Sibongile, describing Nikelo, 41, as a responsible family man who didn't drink or smoke, and who took care of a large family – not only his own, but also his wife's. "He is like a brother to me,” said Sibongile Nikelo.
In an ironic twist, Sibongile described how Nikelo's first wife had died in a car accident with her boyfriend – she'd been cheating on him, she said – and how because of his good nature he hadn't judged her, but had buried her, even under those circumstances.
In Nikelo's first apparent indication of empathy with Hanton's family, albeit second-hand, Sibongile apologised on her husband's behalf, saying he sent them his heart-felt condolences. But State Prosecutor Zukile Mdolomba was scathing, saying he couldn't believe Sibongile was talking about the same man who had denied any guilt earlier in the year. "Are we talking about the same man here?" Mdolomba asked.
"The Mr Nikelo I know stood there proudly lying to the court about what happened on that day. This simply can't be true. "Mrs Nikelo says her husband is a responsible family man, but is he a responsible driver? No, he's not and he should get a fitting punishment for his mistake," Mdolomba said. Sarah May Hanton told the court she'd been hurt by Nikelo's lack of remorse throughout.
Even though it wouldn't have brought back the father of their two children, a show of remorse would have gone a long way in her healing process, she said. “What was so upsetting was the lack of willingness to take responsibility," Hanton said. "Things go on and there are consequences, but I never imagined he [Nikelo] would not show remorse.”
She said her children coped in stages. When she was strong, her daughter needed her, and the other way around. Of their son, she said that sometimes he said things like, "I don't have a dad." Hanton said it was very difficult for her family to cope financially now that her husband, who had contributed two-thirds of the family income, was gone.
Dave Hanton was a co-partner in IT Solutions and had a hand in the property business before he died. The court heard that the Hanton household had taken care of the education of the young child of a domestic worker – something that Sarah May couldn't afford on her own.
Also in court was Dave Hanton's friend and fellow athlete, Johan Conradie, who'd been with him that day, on their regular late-afternoon training run. Conradie said that he hoped the message sent by the court would be clear, that reckless driving wouldn't be tolerated. Nikelo's sentence started immediately after the sentencing.
