Jacob Zuma and son in court
Former president supports Duduzane, who faces two charges of culpable homicide.
BLF are at court to support the accused, whom they claim won’t get a fair trial.
It was a case of Zuma Inc yesterday, with Duduzane Zuma chatting and giggling with his father, former president Jacob Zuma, in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court.
The younger Zuma is facing two charges of culpable homicide after rear-ending a minibus taxi with his Porsche on a wet road in 2014. The accident led to the deaths of Phumzile Dube at the scene, while Nanki Mashaba died later in hospital.
Duduzane’s appearance in the dock lasted about four minutes, as his lawyer, Piet du Plessis, who previously represented convicted Czech Republic gangster Radovan Krejcir, asked for a postponement to October 26 to peruse the case file. This was acceded to by senior public prosecutor Yusuf Baba, and Duduzane was released on warning. His father was whisked away in a blue-light convoy.
Outside the court, the Black First Land First’s (BLF) Zanele Lwana said: “BLF is here in solidarity with Duduzane Zuma
“We believe he won’t get a fair trial in this country.
“We have seen how the judiciary and the court processes have been contaminated. He has been treated unfairly, even before the case can be fairly ventilated in court.”
Department of justice and constitutional development spokesperson Mukoni Ratshitanga declined to comment.
Lwana added that AfriForum, which is representing the Dube family, did not have the right to speak for black people. “BLF believes that if Duduzane has a case to answer for he must be held accountable,” said Lwana. “But we must not allow racist organisations such AfriForum take advantage of black people’s disputes.”
AfriForum CEO Kallie Kriel said the organisation did not claim to speak for black people and had merely stood up for the Dube family when the National Prosecuting Authority initially refused to prosecute Duduzane. “It’s an effort to support the Dube family to ensure justice is done.” –