Celebs Who Have Faced Culpable Homicide Charges

More often than not, we are reminded that ZAlebs are regular people just like us and everyday things happen to them too. We usually hear about them being victims of crime but sometimes, they end up on the other side of the law too.

Here are some ZAlebs who've themselves in the wrong. 

She was investigated for culpable homicide back in 2013 after a 79-year-old pensioner was hit with her car. This was while she was still a choirmaster on Mzanzi Magic’s music reality show, Clash of the Choirs South Africa.

The unidentified woman was on her way to the clinic when the accident occurred in Mofolo, Soweto on 28 January 2013. It was then reported that Sephuma took the woman to Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, where she died hours later.

She has since been cleared of charges and has gotten to know the children of the deceased. Speaking to Azania on Real Talk, she confirmed that the deceased’s children have forgiven her and she has remained in contact with them.

 

The former TKZee band member was in trouble with Botswana law enforcement back in 2007 on charges of killing a woman in a car accident.

According to News24, the Botswana government tried to get South Africa to extradite him. When the South African authorities received assurances that Tshabalala would not be given the death sentence, Tshabalala agreed to return.

The Botswana police accused him of speeding, citing the fact that they tried to stop him for ignoring a road sign in Mogoditshane village, outside Gaborone, in March 2001. They went on to add that they gave chase and Tshabalala tried to overtake a car which resulted in him crashing head-on into an oncoming car, killing the driver, businesswoman Maria Monyatsi.

He was later cleared of all charges.

While travelling to Durban for a December weekend away, Ranaka knocked down an 18-year-old woman who was crossing the N3 highway on foot.

She visited the girls family home to apologize, stating, “I apologised to the family and was forgiven. There’s no animosity in that family. Those are human beings and they understood it was an accident,” in an interview with Sunday Sun.

On March 8th 2010, whilst under the influence of drugs, Molemo (Jub Jub)  Maarohanye and Themba Tshabalala smashed their mini coopers into a group of schoolboys in Protea North, Soweto. Four were killed and two were seriously injured.
He and his co-accused were initially sentenced to 20 years for murder and 4 years for attempted murder.  

They then lodged an appeal in 2014 and managed to convince the court that they weren’t in control of their faculties due to drug and alcohol use. That resulted in their sentences being converted to culpable homicide. Jub Jub has since been released.

On Valentine's Day in 2013, athlete Oscar Pistorius fatally shot his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp, in his Pretoria home.

He claimed he had mistaken Steenkamp for an intruder hiding in the bathroom after she had woken up to go use the bathroom and he had not heard her get up. He was arrested and charged with murder.

At his 2014 trial, Pistorius was found guilty of culpable homicide where he received a five-year prison sentence for culpable homicide and a concurrent three-year suspended prison sentence for a separate reckless endangerment conviction.

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