Pretoria policeman found guilty of culpable homicide won’t be sent to prison

CAPE TOWN - A Pretoria policeman found guilty of culpable homicide will not be sent to prison for now.

Instead, the seven-year sentence he was given has been suspended for five years.

Warrant Officer Jacob Makana was sentenced by the Soshanguve Magistrates Court to seven years for the death of Akhona Gxuluwe in 2021.

The sentence has been suspended provided Makana is not found guilty of a similar offence during the suspension period.

It's believed that Makana lost control of his vehicle, which then hit and killed Gxuluwe, who was walking on the side of the road.

"Makana was also ordered by the court to pay R150,000 to the mother of the deceased and to take out a policy for the child of the deceased. His driver's licence was also suspended for a period of six months," said the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID)’s spokesperson, Phaladi Shuping.