Lack of results sees drunk driving accused walk

CHARGES of drunk driving against former umngeni municipal manager Dumisani Vilakazi were withdrawn in the Howick Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

The charges were withdrawn because blood test results were not forthcoming from the state.

Vilakazi crashed his Jaguar into a fence at an Mpophomeni house, near Howick, early on August 11 last year. The Daily News reported that shocked witnesses at the scene said Vilakazi stumbled out of his car and fell down twice after the accident.

The owner of the house called the police and Vilakazi was arrested.

Vilakazi is no stranger to the courts.

In March 2003 he was arrested in Hilton on suspicion of drunk driving and released by the Howick Magistrate’s Court on R1 000 bail before being acquitted in 2007.

In August 2008, he wrote off his Mercedes-benz in a collision with a truck on the N3 highway near Mooi River.

He was charged with drunk driving, failing to obey the directions of a traffic officer, refusing to do a breathalyser test and malicious damage to property. He was later charged with resisting arrest and with assault.

In December 2009, a month after being suspended, the former municipal manager pleaded guilty to some of the charges and was sentenced to a a jail term of 18 months or a fine of R30 000.

In May last year Vilakazi was sacked after a unanimous decision by ANC, IFP and DA councillors. This was as a result of a disciplinary investigation by council attorneys.

A forensic investigation found that he had inflated the remuneration packages of sen- ior managers by increasing their travel allowances, resulting in an overpayment of R1.4 million in July 2007.

It was also found that no taxes were withheld from the performance bonuses of senior managers. Vilakazi also allegedly received R34 000 more as part of a performance bonus than he should have.

He went to the bargaining council to overturn his dismissal, but lost the case. He has also lost the appeal.