Mmelesi convicted of culpable homicide in Justice Mokgoro’s death

David Mmelesi has been found guilty of culpable homicide in connection with the death of retired Constitutional Court Justice Yvonne Mokgoro, SABC News reported on Saturday, 26 September. Sentencing is scheduled for 3 November.

Mokgoro died in May 2024 after suffering serious injuries in a road collision in April 2023 between Warrenton and Kimberley in the Northern Cape. Mmelesi, her long-time partner, was reported to have been driving the car in which she was travelling. He remains out on bail pending sentencing, according to SABC’s account of the verdict.

The case examined how the collision happened. SABC reported that a truck driver who testified during earlier proceedings said the car had been parked at the side of the road without hazard lights and that its driver made a U-turn without indicating. That is the witness’s evidence as reported from the trial; the broadcaster’s verdict report did not provide the court’s full reasons or a written judgment.

Mokgoro’s son, Ithateng, told SABC that the family was relieved the case had reached a verdict and wanted to begin finding closure. He said the family also hoped to honour her legacy through the Yvonne Mokgoro Foundation.

Mokgoro served as a Constitutional Court justice and was among the country’s pioneering women in the judiciary. The culpable-homicide conviction is a finding against Mmelesi in the road-collision case; no sentence has been imposed yet. This Sunday report concerns Saturday’s verdict, not a new judgment delivered on 27 September.