Yengeni in big trouble this time
Threat to ‘throw book’ at him
TONY Yengeni may not escape with a slap on the wrist after his latest run-in with the law while behind the wheel of a luxury car.
Cape Town’s mayoral chief of safety and security, Jean-Pierre Smith, has vowed to “throw the book” at the ANC NEC member due to repeated transgressions on city roads.
Nicknamed the “Gucci socialist” for his expensive tastes, Yengeni drives top-of-the-range German and Italian cars.
He was arrested last Sunday evening for allegedly driving his Maserati GranCabrio while un-
He was caught by a metro police officer for swerving across the road
der the influence of alcohol in Green Point. The vehicle also had no front number plate.
“Mr Yengeni breaks the law with impunity,” said Smith. “He is the worst offender that you can find on the road. This is the third time that he has been fined for driving without a number plate. It is the second time that he has been arrested for alleged drunken driving.
“This time the metro police are making sure that the book will be thrown at him,” he told the Sunday Times.
A warrant of arrest has been issued after Yengeni failed to appear in court over unpaid traffic fines. He could not be reached for comment this week.
Yengeni is a regular patron at upmarket clubs and venues, including Cubana in Green Point and the Corner Lounge in Gugulethu, where he smokes Cuban cigars and sips expensive champagne.
Last Sunday traffic police took him to a special facility in Athlone, the “Shadow centre”, which was opened four years ago to combat drunk driving. Video recordings were made of his blood being drawn and a breath sample allegedly showed him to be over the legal limit.
In 2006 Yengeni was portrayed as a hero when supporters carried him to Pollsmoor prison to start serving a four-year sentence for fraud related to the arms deal.
But there was no welcoming party last weekend at Cape Town Central police station where he spent the night in a cell with 14 other men, wrapped in a grey police blanket. Witnesses said he kept a low profile and paid his own bail of R500 the next morning.
Smith said there was surveillance video footage of the Maserati driving erratically. “I want to make it clear that Mr Yengeni was not targeted or set up by the metro police,” he said.
“He was caught by a metro police officer for swerving across the road and with no number plates. The officer had no idea who was in the car.”
Yengeni was previously arrested for allegedly driving under the influence in Cape Town in 2007. He was acquitted be- cause police tampered with a blood sample.
Smith is adamant that will not happen again. “That is why we took him to the Shadow centre where blood was drawn and the whole process was electronically captured. The blood is now in the hands of the National Prosecuting Authority. We will monitor the case every step of the way.”
Smith said it was a pity that Yengeni would appear in court only in March next year because of a backlog in the testing of blood samples.