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Zuma son makes second court appearance in a week

Thursday July 12 2018
Duduzane

Duduzane, the son of former South African President Jacob Zuma, makes his way into Randburg Magistrate’s Court in Johannesburg on July 12, 2018. PETER DUBE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

By PETER DUBE

Former South African President Jacob Zuma’s son Duduzane’s culpable homicide case was Thursday postponed to August 23.

Mr Duduzane Zuma appeared at the Randburg Magistrate’s Court in the morning, his second court appearance this week.

Earlier this week, he was released on $7,500 (R100,000) bail after returning to the country for his young brother’s funeral held at the weekend. He faces charges of state capture and corruption.

The culpable homicide case occurred in 2014 when Duduzane's Porsche plunged into a 16-seater taxi, leaving two people dead and some others injured.

Lack of evidence

The son of former president is being accused of negligently causing the deaths of Phumzile Dube and Nanki Mashaba.

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In 2015, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) refused to prosecute him, citing lack of evidence. At the time, Duduzane said the road was wet because of the rain, causing his car to slip.

The case was brought back by a civil rights group, AfriForum, which applied for private prosecution, arguing that there was evidence of negligence.

NPA spokesperson Phindi Louw said they were confident the case would be handled proficiently.

“As the NPA, we have appointed an experienced prosecutor. We have faith in his expertise to do justice in this case. Mr Zuma is on free bail with no conditions,” Ms Louw said.

Black people

Members of the Black Land First (BLF), a political party that has always supported former President Zuma, caused a stir outside the Randburg court, barring journalists from interviewing AfriForum’s Kalie Kriel.

They hurled insults at Mr Kriel, chanting that he must go because he was racist and had no right to speak on behalf of black people. They were referring to the families of the two who died in the 2014 accident.

“You have no right to speak on behalf of black people, go back to Europe you colonialists. The Dube family deserve better,” shouted BLF members

BLF president Andile Mngxithama said his party would “fight until racists go back to Europe”.

“We are here in solidarity with Duduzane, he is being attacked because he is the son of the former President, Jacob Zuma,” added Mr Mngxithama.

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