The minibus taxi driver who allegedly ran down and killed 16-year-old Bernadine Kruger had his case postponed in the Pretoria District Court on Thursday.Percyval Matji, 31, appeared briefly in the dock wearing a blue T-shirt and tracksuit top. He stared blankly ahead as Magistrate Dreyer Van Der Merwe postponed the matter to March 2. He would remain in custody until then.
Matji allegedly hit Kruger while she was driving her scooter to school in Garsfontein on Monday. Matji was arrested a day later.
Earlier, while Matji waited in the cells for his first appearance on the charge of culpable homicide, Garsfontein Hoerskool's deputy head boy and girl Phillip Foche and Lolly de Milander lay a wreath at the base of a wall outside the court.
Stuck to the wall was a recent picture of Kruger holding her newly born sister in her arms and smiling broadly at the camera.
Around 50 people had also gathered to mourn Kruger's death.
In silence they stood in the courtyard holding pink roses and AfriForum placards which read: "Taxis are not above the law", "We mourn" and "Reckless driving = murder".
Garsfontein Hoerskool grade 11 head teacher Annette Stiff said she and the two pupils, dressed in their school uniforms, had attended the ceremony to express the entire school's sadness over Kruger's death.
"We hope that something will come of it. If something can come from this tragedy [it is] if people can be more aware of how they drive.
She said Kruger was a "very sweet" girl who was academically strong and had lots of friends.
Foche said Kruger would be sorely missed by all who knew her.
"I think she was an example to most of her friends of how to live your life in a good way and I think they are going to miss her very much.
"The school is very mournful at the moment and very sad because it's a great loss we've suffered," said Foche.
A woman whose child was run over by a minibus taxi in 2001 was also at the court to show her solidarity with Kruger's parents.
Marieta Ferreira said her son Henno was 16-years-old when he crossed a road in Garsfontein in 2001. A taxi skipped a red traffic light and hit him.
The driver fled the scene. After nine appearances in court he was eventually given a six month suspended sentence.
"For one year he was driving still in that car, everyday. I'm just here because I think it's not right that nothing happens to them," said Ferreira.
The gathering -- organised by civil rights group AfriForum -- was also part of a campaign to have Matji charged with murder, as opposed to the standing charge of culpable homicide.
"There is a growing sense of frustration amongst motorists regarding lawless taxi drivers, and this death of a young girl is the last straw which breaks the camel's back," said AfriForum's CEO Kallie Kriel.
He said the National Road Traffic Act's minimum penalty for reckless driving did not serve as a deterrent.
The minimum penalty, according to Kriel, was that the persons driver's licence would be retracted for six months after the first offence.
"The minimum penalty should be increased dramatically in order to serve as an unambiguous warning to reckless drivers that their actions will not be tolerated," he said.
Source : Sapa /dw/th
Date : 26 Feb 2009 13:29
