Reference no: EM132404006

Sipho leaves his home one evening to attend a function. When he returns home around 2 o`clock in the morning, he discovers that he has lost his front-door key. He decides to climb into the house through an open bedroom window. Xoliswa, his wife, is woken by a sound at the window. In the darkness she sees a figure climbing through the window. She thinks it is a criminal, as a number of women had been raped in the area over the last few months. She shoots and kills the 'intruder', only to find out that it is her own husband, Sipho, that she has killed. At the time of the shooting, Sipho's ex-wife, Lindiwe, and her two minor children, were still dependent on Sipho for maintaining them financially. Lindiwe sues Xoliswa for patrimonial losses suffered as a result of Sipho's death.

a. Discuss whether Xoliswa had intentionally killed Sipho.

b. Advise whether Xoliswa acted negligently, by applying the two-legged test for negligence.