The elderly Lutzville boer accused of mowing down a six-year-old boy with his bakkie and breaking his legs has been sent to the mang after his bail application was denied.
Despite Christoffel Stoman, 70, telling the court that he only had six months to live due to suffering from cancer, the magistrate decided to keep the farmer behind bars as he believed the State had a strong case against the accused.
The bail judgement was handed down at the Vredendal Magistrates Court Monday.
Stoman is facing two counts of attempted murder and a charge of reckless and negligent driving after after six-year-old Khwezi Jantjies was run over with a bakkie, breaking both the child’s legs.
It is alleged that Stoman did this after seeing the child trying to steal fruit from his farm.
Billy Claasen of the Rural and Farmworkers Development Organisation said the boy was walking with his mother Magrieta when the incident occurred. His mother was not injured.
The child subsequently underwent surgery and last week his mother joined Claasen at court where the activist read out a petition signed by more than 1 500 residents.
In the bail judgement, the magistrate said as Stoman did not take the stand to testify on his personal circumstances, the court had to rely on the evidence given by his wife Magdalene.
She said her husband has been suffering from prostate cancer for seven years and now only has six months to live.
Magdalene told the court that she was present during the incident, and that she saw Khwezi with his hand through their fence and asked her husband to stop the bakkie.
She said her husband was angry that the boy and his mother were taking oranges but said she had no idea how the child ended up under the vehicle.
But the Magistrate said Magdalene was “economical with the truth” and highlighted the evidence of the investigating officer who explained that in Magrieta’s statement to police, she said that Stoman hit her son with his bakkie and then drove over him.
The mother said after the incident, Stoman got out of his bakkie and said: “Ek gaan julle vrek stamp.”
The magistrate said the fact that Stoman did not testify or submit an affidavit in his bail application did him no favours.
The magistrate concluded: “I find that the applicant failed to show on balance of probabilities that the interests of justice permits his release on bail. Bail is therefore refused.”
Claasen applauded the court for their decision: “We welcome this judgement and this will strengthen our trust in rural courts.”
He added that Khwezi has been discharged from hospital and is recovering well.
The case has been postponed to 4 October for further investigations.
monique.duval@inl.co.za