Share

'It does have an effect on me' - Duduzane Zuma testifies at his culpable homicide trial

Duduzane Zuma, the son of former president Jacob Zuma, took to the witness stand in the Randburg Magistrate's Court on Wednesday to give his version of events on the day Phumzile Dube died in an accident.

Zuma is on trial for culpable homicide, after an accident which caused the death of Dube in February 2014. His car crashed into a taxi in which she was travelling.

Zuma told the court that he is not guilty of the charge.

During cross-examination by State prosecutor Yusuf Baba, Zuma told the court that on the day of the incident, there was heavy rain and visibility was poor. He said he was travelling from Fourways to Saxonwold and had joined the highway from William Nicol Drive.

He also told the court that he had been driving at a speed of about 120km/h and had hit a puddle of water, which resulted in his vehicle losing control and spinning.

He said his car spun and hit an "object". He did not recall what exactly the object was.

READ: NPA happy court ruled Duduzane Zuma has a case to answer

When Baba asked whether he was aware that he had hit a taxi, Zuma said he would not deny or admit whether he had hit it.

Zuma also told the court that it had been impossible for him to bring the car back under control following the crash.

He said, in his view, it had been impossible to avoid the crash.

Zuma described the incident as traumatic for everyone, saying he was fortunate to have not been killed or injured.

"It does have an effect on me," he added.

However, he said he did not want to play the "blame game" and took full responsibility.

"I do sympathise with anyone who has been affected," he told the court.

The matter was postponed to Thursday, due to technical challenges with the recording machine.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
How often do you go to the cinema to watch new movies?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Often - nothing beats the big screen
2% - 26 votes
Hardly - I prefer streaming online
66% - 730 votes
Sometimes - it depends on the film release
32% - 350 votes
Vote
Rand - Dollar
19.15
-0.7%
Rand - Pound
23.82
-0.6%
Rand - Euro
20.39
-0.5%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.30
-0.5%
Rand - Yen
0.12
-0.6%
Platinum
950.40
-0.3%
Palladium
1,028.50
-0.6%
Gold
2,378.37
+0.7%
Silver
28.25
+0.1%
Brent Crude
87.29
-3.1%
Top 40
67,190
+0.4%
All Share
73,271
+0.4%
Resource 10
63,297
-0.1%
Industrial 25
98,419
+0.6%
Financial 15
15,480
+0.6%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE