State advocate Ethel Ndlovu wants a 10- to 15-year prison sentence for Jandre Dippenaar, who was convicted of killing six people in a car accident near Henties Bay in 2014.

The state and defence in the Dippenaar case presented oral closing arguments in the regional court at Swakopmund on Thursday.

Defence lawyer Albert Strydom asked the court not to give Dippenaar a lengthy sentence or any form of imprisonment because he is a first-time offender.

Advocate Strydom says the court should consider other forms of punishment, such as a suspended sentence, withdrawal of his driver's licence, and community service.

He stated that Dippenaar is not a violent person, and although he was convicted of murder, which is normally a violent crime, there was no violence in Dippenaar's instance.

The advocate added that since the accident, Dippenaar has been convicted by society, resulting in rejection, and this, he says, constitutes a clear form of suffering.

The defence appealed for mercy and highlighted that Dippenaar is not a danger to society as he has rehabilitated himself since the deadly crash.

According to the defence team, Dippenaar had no intention to kill six people, and driving carelessly did not mean that he wanted to kill people.

In response, advocate Ethel Ndlovu, representing the state, asked the magistrate to deliver a 10 to 15-year prison term for murder, two years for reckless driving, and a fine for driving without a licence.

Ndlovu argued that Dippenaar had the intention to kill six people because he ignored a warning from traffic officers hours before the accident and overtook a car at a blind spot.

The state advocate said that when a person is behind the wheel, the car can become a murder weapon if it is not used correctly or if rules are not followed.

This, she said, is what happened in Dippenaars' case.

She added that people died violently by burning to death when Dippenaar failed to follow rules and crashed into an oncoming.

Ndlovu said the families of the victims revealed the psychological and physical effects the accident has had on them.

Regarding the psychology reports of Dippenaar, the state advocate said the neuropsychologist was paid by the defence to testify and further described the reports as biassed.

Magistrate Gaynor Poulton is expected to sentence Dippenaar, who has been in police custody since June, on Friday.