Expert: Zuma not negligent

President Jacob Zuma’s son Duduzane Zuma would not have been able to control his car even if he travelled at a lower speed, an inquest heard yesterday.

“Even if he travelled at a lower speed than he did on that night in those conditions, he would still not be able to control his car after hitting a puddle,” said accident reconstruction expert, Johannes P Strydom. In his statement, Zuma said he lost control of his Porsche after it hit a puddle.

It spun and hit the back of a minibus taxi, coming to a standstill facing oncoming traffic.

Passenger Phumzile Dube was killed and three others were injured. The accident happened on a rainy night in February on the M1 south off-ramp to Grayston Drive in Sandton. Gary Mazanam, for Zuma, asked Strydom what would have happened if Zuma applied breaks after hitting the puddle.

“It is extremely dangerous for a vehicle of this technology (Porsche) to just hit breaks suddenly. It would aggravate the circumstances much more,” Strydom said.