Ford Kuga case postponed
THE inquiry into who should be held liable for the death of a 32-year-old man who died when his Ford Kuga caught alight more than three years ago has been postponed in the Western Cape High Court.
Reshall Jimmy burnt to death while on holiday in the Wilderness on December 4, 2015, when his vehicle inexplicably caught fire. More than 80 other Kugas have caught alight on South African roads since.
Motor giant Ford has recalled more than 4 000 Kugas as part of several safety fixes to the vehicles. On Friday a Kuga caught alight near East London.
Initially, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) chose not to prosecute. Lobby group Afriforum, with advocate Gerrie Nel representing the Jimmy family at the judicial inquiry, is taking the Ford Motor Company to court on behalf of his family.
The matter was postponed on Monday due to outstanding witness statements and has been set down for March 18.
Andrew Leask, an investigator at AfriForum’s private prosecution unit, was quoted as saying: “Justice must be served. We cannot allow large corporate companies to avoid accepting liability in cases like this.
“Evidence suggests that the fire was caused by a mechanical error in the vehicle and we trust that this judicial inquiry will bring the truth to light.”
Ford South Africa allegedly offered the Jimmy family another Ford car to compensate for the vehicle in which Reshall Jimmy burnt to death.
In May 2017, Ranisha Jimmy, Reshall’s sister, spoke of how the family had suffered emotionally while trying to find closure for her brother’s death.
“They basically made the family an offer of any Ford motor vehicle up to the value of R1 million and the family responded that they would never again set foot in another Ford vehicle,” said Rod Montano, the Jimmy family’s attorney.
Renisha also said she wanted Ford SA chief executive Jeff Nemeth to take responsibility for what happened to her brother and apologise to their family for spreading false rumours that he had committed suicide.
In January 2017, Ford SA recalled the 1.6-litre Ford Kuga model after Reshall’s death and various other incidents of a similar nature were reported.