SA soccer ace guilty of killing Zimbabwean maid

Johannesburg - Soccer star Bryce Moon has been convicted of culpable homicide after he killed a Zimbabwean in a road accident. But Magistrate Vincent Pienaar on Friday morning acquitted the soccer star of attempted murder, negligent and reckless driving and driving under the influence of alcohol.

In handing down his judgment, Pienaar said he rejected Moon's version of the events as "clearly false".

Pienaar said evidence from the scene including skid marks and the injuries of the deceased indicated that Moon had been speeding.

As Pienaar passed verdict, Moon stared ahead. At the time of going to press it was unclear whether Moon would be jailed or face a fine.

This was expected to be argued after a short adjournment.

Pienaar was satisfied that the State had proved beyond reasonable doubt that Moon had driven his car at high speed and collided with domestic worker Mavis Ncube. Moon was driving on Katherine Street, Sandton in June 2009 when he hit Ncube with his Mercedes-Benz. She was taken to the Morningside Clinic where she died.

He pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him including murder, attempted murder and negligent and reckless driving. He had also been charged with driving under the influence.

Pienaar said it had been common cause that Moon was the driver of the car that struck Ncube, and that the speed limit on the road was 60km/h. What was in dispute, however, was whether Moon was speeding, and under the influence of alcohol, and whether he was the cause of the accident.

Pienaar said it was clear that Moon had not told the truth in his evidence and that he had been speeding.

In evaluating the evidence of the 11 witnesses who testified, the magistrate found that some people, including Thandi Sibanda, who had been with Ncube that morning, had contradicted themselves during cross examination and in the statements they made to the police.

However he said when a person made a statement one couldn't expect them to mention all the details.

He said the statement was made to help the State determine whether there was a prima facie case against the accused, followed by a court case, where there would be cross-examination to fill in the details.

But Pienaar slated the evidence of metro police officer Phumzie Tom. "In my opinion he does not take his work seriously – he was a bad witness," he said.

In October last year former Bafana Bafana player Moon testified that there was no way he could avoid hitting Ncube as she ran into the path of his car. In his testimony Moon said two pedestrians had run into the road as he entered a bend, and he swerved his Mercedes-Benz to the left to avoid hitting them.

"As I swerved, the second pedestrian (Ncube) ran into the direction I was driving towards and I couldn't avoid her… it was too late for me to avoid her and I struck her," he said.

The 26-year-old Bidwest Wits player said he hit a wall after knocking Ncube down. He got out of the car, with his head bleeding, and sat on a tree stump and waited for help.

Moon said he was driving at a speed of between 60 and 70km/h.

He had gone to pick up two friends who had attended a function with him the previous night. He said he had left his friends at the event at about 1am, telling them to call him if they needed fetching. They called him at 5am, and the accident happened on the way.