Who is responsible for this toddler’s death?

Posted on January 6th, 2009 by Richard Catto 1,565 views

On Friday, January 02 2009, a Soweto mother, Siphokazi Gontsi, was walking with her sister Zandile in Nyanga when she was accosted by two muggers who demanded her cell phone. She refused to hand it over, and in the struggle that ensued, she was pushed into the road by her attackers and the blanket holding her two year old baby daughter, Akhanya, to her back unwound and her child fell into the road where it was ridden over by a bus, killing it instantly.

Golden Arrow has suspended the bus driver who rode over the little girl and has said that disciplinary actions will be taken against him after their investigation has been completed.

Is this fair?

Was the bus driver really responsible for this tragedy? Shouldn’t the full blame rather be placed on the two muggers whose criminal behaviour led directly to the death of an innocent young child?

Source:
Bus driver suspended after toddler’s death

Tags: Crime, Golden Arrow, Nyanga
Filed under Crime |

8 Responses to “Who is responsible for this toddler’s death?”

1. Sybergypsy Says:
   January 6th, 2009 at 22:46

   No, off course the driver was probably not fully responsible for this very sad event. It’s just a very tragic set of ‘knock-on’ events: the universe’s way of calling time to a young person’s life, without intending to trivialise what has happened here. No pointing the finger, nor any amount of laying blame will ever bring this child back and sidetracking the real issue of rampant crime rife in some areas (and note I say ’some’ areas) by focusing on the bus driver’s action does not help either.
   While the muggers should not escape blame, can I perhaps throw a little oil on the fire by saying that surely they did not perhaps consciously cause this either? The muggers should be focused on for what they actively did which is demanding a cell phone: is this greed for money, due to poverty, or drug necessity?

   These are the issues that need to be raised.
   Poverty
   Drug Abuse
   Crime

   Where is the policing?

2. Richard Catto Says:
   January 6th, 2009 at 23:13

   @Sybergypsy: “While the muggers should not escape blame, can I perhaps throw a little oil on the fire by saying that surely they did not perhaps consciously cause this either?”

   The way the law works is that if during the course of performing a criminal action, it leads to homicide, you can be charged for murder. Everyone involved in the criminal action is held accountable, not just the one who pushed the mother into the road.

   “Where is the policing?”

   Good question.

   The investigation of the bus driver will no doubt focus on whether or not he could reasonably have avoided the accident. I hope they don’t expect bus drivers to swerve to avoid pedestrians because that would lead to more fatalities.

3. Sybergypsy Says:
   January 7th, 2009 at 19:16

   “Everyone involved in the criminal action is held accountable…”

   Precisely. Your comment indirectly bounces back to what I was saying: the question is though, just how far back does one trace accountability and at which stage does the blame cease? Isn’t it perhaps a pointless exercise to lay the blame: the child is dead. Period.

   As for policing, the very irony is that Cape Town city centre is grossly over-policed, though not a bad thing, to the effect of providing a (false) sense of security for tourists with the aim of 2010 and the Soccer World Cup; yet hidden ‘far from the maddening crowd’ (forgive the ad-lib) in real Cape Town, crime is rampant and no attention is paid to it. Yet an innocent bus driver, going on his daily business is hauled to justice purely because he had the misfortune of being there where crime was occurring.
   Clearly, there is a huge injustice here, but there is also a very serious inbalance in government: now, will the real culprits please stand up?

4. Richard Catto Says:
   January 7th, 2009 at 22:34

   @Sybergypsy: The only people committing a crime were the two muggers, unless the bus driver was intoxicated.

   Investigating the cause of accidents is not a pointless exercise. The purpose is to discover what went wrong and to fix the problems and punish those responsible. This helps prevent future occurrences.

   Most of Cape Town’s crime occurs in the poorer areas, agreed.

5. Sybergypsy Says:
   January 8th, 2009 at 00:55

   Please re-read?
   My post states that perhaps laying the blame would be pointless, it does not refer to investigating the cause of accidents.

   As for what went wrong, the answer is in what you said “Most of Cape Town’s crime occurs in the poorer areas” – the muggers are the product of their environment and of the inbalance in how government applies policing to their best warped insight. Jail these two, and hundreds more will mushroom.

6. rashiq Says:
   January 9th, 2009 at 10:31

   i come from one of the ‘poorer areas’ and a mugger is not the product of their enviroment. We all have choices to make and these guys are just lazy no good scum bags. I turned out fine. these guys dont want to work thats all. Whats easier?? Working or robbing people? i gave alot of these guys a chance before but they prefer standing on the street corners doin nothing.

7. rashiq Says:
   January 9th, 2009 at 10:37

   one more thing… yes the police are busy workin. i know quite a few cops and they gather at one of my friends place 2 or 3 hours before its time to knock off cause they say they dont feel like workin. Sometimes they go and grab a couple of beers and chill out at his place. i know thats a serious allegation but i was there. maybe i should record it and put it on youtube. some of them dont even go back to the station to hand in their firearms, they just hand it over to whoever and they drop it off. thought these guys are supoosed to hand it in personally and sign for it or sumthin.

8. Sybergypsy Says:
   January 13th, 2009 at 19:08

   1) @ Rashiq: Perhaps true, yes, that a mugger is not the product of their environment, but is it not also true that the catalyst of poverty assists to create a mugger? The very nature of a mugger is someone who covets that which is not his, and who does not always or often have the motivation nor the skills to gain what he wants, legally and productively? Good on you though that you managed to raise above your circumstances: this is always especially worthy of respect and admiration! Unfortunate then that the same can not be said of the majority though…
   As for your comment about the police, yes I have witnessed similar behaviour myself in Cape Town city centre, and I guess this kind of behaviour from them is rather not so rare, as when approached for an apt photo opportunity, a policeman quoted that ‘he does not want his photo making headlines as this happens all the time’. I would love being able to see your video on youtube though… would make for great sensationalism?

   2) @ Rumpledtoadstool: yes, that thought crossed my mind for a milli-second too: but then, this is their culture and no woman ever anticipates that a habit which has been done for 100’s of years, will cause the death of a child: no need to be cruel?

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