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The answer to the straightforward and uncomplicated question of whether a culpable homicide case should be heard in either the district court or the regional court has evaded National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) officials for more than a year. After AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit intervened in April 2024, the NPA decided to prosecute Gareth Webster in August last year for the crash that killed a wife and mother Danielle van Jaarsveld, but the case has yet to be enrolled. 

The Unit represents Van Jaarsveld’s sister, Desire Keating. Webster is accused of reckless and negligent driving following a collision involving his Audi SQ5 performance SUV and Van Jaarsveld’s Kia sedan three years ago (6 November 2022). 

Barry Bateman, Spokesperson for the Unit, says the delay is unacceptable. “Either the Western Cape Director of Public Prosecutions is incapable of making such a simple decision or is unwilling to make the decision. Either way, it exposes the complete collapse of the criminal justice system and the incapacity of NPA officials who are expected to ensure justice for victims of crime. It’s been three years since the deadly crash, and the matter has not gone to trial because the NPA can’t decide whether it should be heard in the district court or the regional court. It’s farcical,” says Bateman. 

The crash took place on Swartvlei Beach Road, a few hundred metres from the Sedge Links Golf Course in Sedgefield, where Webster was attending a golf day. Surveillance footage shows how the force of the impact launched the Kia backwards in the direction it was coming from, before rolling several times onto the side of the road. The SQ5 belonged to Webster’s employer, Audi Centre George. Webster and his passenger, who was also a golf day attendee, escaped without serious injuries. Van Jaarsveld died on the way to the hospital while her passenger Monique van Zyl, her sister-in-law, suffered serious injuries. The pair were on their way to the beach.

Keating says this coming Thursday (6 November) marks three years since the horrific accident. “The persistent inaction and the continued silence from the NPA has had a profound impact on our family. What should have been a clear and simple decision from the NPA has instead become a long, painful wait. For the past three years we have lived in a state of uncertainty, waiting for the NPA to make what should be a straightforward decision. It has also raised serious questions about the NPA’s ability or willingness to fulfil its constitutional mandate to ensure that justice is done. 

“Each day that passes without progress hinders our ability to heal and to find some semblance of peace and closure. It has prolonged our emotional distress and has left us deeply disheartened as our faith in the justice system erodes. Justice delayed is justice denied. Other victims of reckless driving cases around the same time have seen their justice served and so should we. We therefore make a sincere and urgent appeal to the NPA yet again. Act decisively and allow this case to proceed to trial. Restore our trust in the institutions that are supposed to uphold justice for all,” pleads Keating. 

The Private Prosecution Unit represents several families of victims killed in road accidents. “Our experience shows that the police and the NPA do not take culpable homicide cases seriously. Often, the crash scenes are not properly recorded, witness statements are not timeously taken, and reports remain incomplete for years. If the cases eventually make it to court, they often encounter further delays which causes additional frustration for the victims’ families,” says Bateman. 

The Unit will continue to place pressure on the NPA to ensure that the case is enrolled and Webster is prosecuted. Meanwhile, on Thursday (6 November 2025) the Unit will accompany Keo Mavimbela to Tembisa Magistrates’ Court, where Shaune Mogaile will face a charge of culpable homicide. Mogaile, a professional football player, was driving a BMW when it collided head on with Mavimbela’s car, killing her nine-year-old daughter, Gomolemo.

Issued by AfriForum Private Prosecution Unit Barry Bateman