Why take political potshots over tragedy?

By The NewsDay | Feb. 22, 2013 | 4 Min read

At the top of his game, Peter Ndlovu was always a marvel to watch.

Opinion by Conway Tutani

I remember in 1992 when Ndlovu almost single-handedly destroyed South Africa in an international football match at the National Sports Stadium, making the much-vaunted Theophilus “Doctor” Khumalo appear less than average. A year or so later at Barbourfields Stadium, he left the Tunisia defenders colliding into each other as he slipped away with the ball with the deftest of touches and quickest of paces.

He darted past defenders in a mesmeric, electrifying way without seeming to lose speed. That was his hallmark: He let his feet do the talking.

Off the field, Ndlovu was and still is an intensely private man for a superstar of his stature and fame. He has now retired and been fittingly elevated into national team assistant coach.

This week Ndlovu was formally charged with culpable homicide following the death of his elder brother Adam and a female companion, Nomqhele Tshili, who were in the vehicle which he was allegedly driving last December. He has not been asked to make a plea either way. He is innocent until or unless found guilty.

Being arraigned in court does not necessarily entail conviction and imprisonment.

But what has been disconcerting and shocking are some of the comments on websites, pointing to a possible conspiracy of the political kind against Ndlovu. Why should people do so when the fact of the matter is that a fatal accident happened? This is not a special case as to suggest Ndlovu is being singled out for victimisation.

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At its core, the term “culpable homicide” refers to an unlawful killing which is not classified as murder due to the evil intention of killing being absent.

Culpable homicide is classified into two broad categories: voluntary and involuntary culpable homicide.

A culpable homicide is thus classified on the basis of the “mens rea” being present or not. The Latin term “mens rea” translates to “guilty mind” and is one of the basic principles used in Criminal Law. It comes from the Latin phrase that goes “actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea” which means “the act will not make a person guilty unless the mind is also guilty”.

There was no intention to cause loss of life on the part of Ndlovu; it was involuntary. We have seen human instinct at its lowest on football stadium terraces with people attacking fellow human beings like animals. But Ndlovu did not go out looking for trouble. These things befall celebrities like everyone else. I hope my little knowledge of law is not dangerous.

People need to be acquainted with these points of law before they rush to make ill-informed comments. How can you condemn when you don’t know what you are talking about?

To put this into perspective, an almost similar matter is currently before the courts, but with no such brouhaha. Only this week, former Caps United Football Club coach Lloyd Chitembwe was in the gallery at the Mbare Magistrates’ Court where he was following proceedings in a case in which a motorist is being charged with culpable homicide following an accident in which Chitembwe’s brother, Innocent, died.

Way back in Rhodesia, a teacher at one of the schools I attended was jailed for four or so months after his father died following an accident in which he was driving the vehicle without a licence. Such cases are common across eras and jurisdictions. That is the beauty of law; it is guided by precedent. That is why there is a running thread within legal systems, with, for instance, modern Zimbabwean law being largely a mixture of Roman-Dutch Law and English Law.

So any suggestion of a conspiracy against Ndlovu is far-fetched. To give an inexact but comparable example, conspiracy theories exploded in 1992 when former world heavyweight boxing champion Michael Tyson was jailed for an effective three years for rape.

Despite that his victim was an African American like Tyson himself, some people still somewhat saw the hand of the white man behind it and even went to the extent of demonising the woman.

That is how people can close their minds to the glaring reality around them. People were rightly disappointed that the career of their hero had been brought to a screeching halt, but did they have to transfer their outrage to the victim?

Ndlovu knows what happened and what he needs to do. His lawyer must have told him that is not the first time a motorist has faced such a charge. It’s tragic enough that Ndlovu’s own brother and a close companion died in that accident.

But Ndlovu has maintained a dignified silence and I am certain his lawyers told him about the possible developments or what was to come.

So, let’s not lose our heads mourning more than the bereaved over a straightforward but unfortunate matter that is not even remotely political.