Dash of speed expected in Zuma crash hearing
THE INQUEST into the fatal accident involving Duduzane Zuma should be completed before the end of the year, with intense closing arguments expected on Monday.
PresidentJacob Zuma’s son and minibus taxi driver Jabu Dlamini are the subjects of an inquest to determine who was at fault in the accident that claimed the life of a young mother Phumzile Dube.
Zuma and his lawyer Gary Mazaham have claimed that on February 1 this year, Zuma hit a puddle on the M1 South near Grayston Drive in Sandton, seemingly aquaplaning into the back of Dlamini’s taxi. The minibus was sent into the nearby barrier, and Dube died at the scene.
Zuma claimed earlier during the inquest he was travelling through heavy rain at about 90km/h to 100km/h.
The evidence leader, Yusuf Baba, has argued that if Zuma had not been travelling at such a speed on a decline but rather acted like a “reasonable” driver, the accident could have been avoided.
In the Randburg Magistrate’s Court yesterday, closing arguments were set to begin, but Baba announced that both he and Mazaham needed more time, as both of their heads of argument were going to be hundreds of pages long.
Magistrate Lalita Chetty was wary when Baba asked for two weeks to prepare, but seemed satisfied with the inquest continuing on Monday. She still expected to wrap up the inquest before the end of this year, she said.
It’s understood that Zuma’s testimony and expert evidence from accident analyst Johannes Strijdom will be the focal point of both arguments.
Last week, lawyers representing Dlamini and Dube’s family called Strijdom’s evidence “longwinded” and evasive, and asked that it be rejected by the court.