KNYSNA NEWS - The Knysna Regional Court found Philip Bunge guilty on a charge of culpable homicide on Friday 20 April, following the death of Jared Lomas of Cape Town during the Oyster Festival in 2015.
Bunge sat slumped in the dock as the magistrate Marius Fourie read out the judgement, clutching his hands together and looking down. Just minutes after the judgement, his family members got up and left the courtroom.
'Consequences for actions'
The Lomas family and friends, on the other hand, were emotional and many of them fought back tears and embraced each other.
“I'm happy with the outcome,” said Lloyd Lomas, father of Jared. “I don't think it was intentional for Jared to die, but there are consequences for actions and I think the magistrate did a brilliant job – he covered all bases, and at the end of the day our family is very satisfied with the outcome.”
Lomas said he couldn't see Bunge getting off a free man, as all evidence pointed towards him, and that the magistrate agreed that Bunge's statement was inconsistent and "could be disregarded".
Fateful Oyster Festival night
The incident that led to the death of Lomas occurred during the early hours of 12 July 2015 following an altercation between Bunge and Lomas. Bunge said in his testimony that he was driving in Long Street when he noticed Lomas on the road and had to "swerve to avoid hitting him".
He braked, he said, reversed and confronted Lomas, and the situation escalated from there.
According to the prosecution, after the confrontation, Bunge held on to Lomas' collar as he drove away in his Colt bakkie and Lomas fell down. Bunge said it was the other way around, that Lomas held him by the collar.
A pathology report reveals Lomas' skull was crushed – probably as the bakkie drove over him, the prosecution said.
