The state will no longer be prosecuting Duduzane Zuma on one of his two charges of culpable homicide, a state prosecutor told the Randburg Magistrate Court on Tuesday, where the son of former president Jacob Zuma faces charges of culpable homicide and negligent driving.
A second charge of culpable homicide that Duduzane Zuma was facing has been withdrawn.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) announced that it would prosecute former president Jacob Zuma’s son for culpable homicide in April last year.
Now, new evidence from a pathologist has caused the state to withdraw one of the culpable homicide charges. It was found that the woman who lost her life in a crash involving Zuma on February 1, 2014, died of pre-existing conditions, rather than as a direct result of the incident.
Taxi passenger Phumzile Dube was killed and three others were injured after Zuma’s Porsche rear-ended a minibus taxi on the M1 South off-ramp to Grayston Drive in Sandton. Later, a second passenger, Nanki Jeanette Mashaba also passed away, in what has now been determined to have been caused by her pre-existing conditions.
Zuma, who has pleaded not guilty to his charges, said he lost control of his Porsche after it hit a puddle in rainy conditions.
Zuma’s lawyer today read out a statement in court, in which Zuma admits to losing control of the vehicle after hitting a puddle and mentions the deceased as well as the two injured.
The state has called its first witness, Mthobisi Percival Nxumalo, who works at the SA weather service, to the stand.
UPDATE: An earlier version of this story indicated that both charges of culpable homicide had been dropped, it has now been corrected to indicate that only one of two charges of culpable homicide have been dropped. 9:52, March 26.
(Compiled by Daniel Friedman)