Former President Jacob Zuma’s son, Duduzane, will know on Friday if his bid to get a culpable homicide charge and one of negligent driving against him dropped, was successful.
In 2014, Zuma rear-ended a taxi. Passenger Phumzile Dube died in the crash.
The state closed its case on day two of the trial after calling two witnesses, the defence immediately applied for a discharge.
Zuma’s defence, Mike Hellens is adamant that there is not enough evidence to hold him criminally liable for Phumzile Dube’s death.
“The state has not got either an eyewitness; they don’t have to have one. They don’t have an accident reconstruction expert that describes how the accident happened; they don’t necessarily have to have that. They don’t have the only reasonable inference from approved facts. They have in fact nothing.”
The state prosecutor Yusuf Baba, however, urged the court not to consider Zuma’s discharge application insisting that he should be held accountable.
“Drivers of motor vehicles must, again and again, be reminded that they are in control of an instrument that takes a dreadful toll on lives on the highways…”
The former president questioned the reinstatement of the charges. The NPA decided to pursue the case again after rights group AfriForum signaled a private prosecution.
Speaking to SABC News at the Randburg Magistrates’ Court, the former president questioned the resuscitation of the case.
“There was a process that was undertaken which is a legal process and it was concluded why then come back, and when you come back there is no evidence to say indeed there was negligence.”
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