Duduzane Zuma, the son of South Africa’s former president Jacob Zuma, appeared in court on Thursday on culpable homicide charges over a fatal late-night car crash in 2014.
Zuma, 34, is accused in the death of Phumzile Dube after his Porsche hit a minibus taxi in which she was travelling. State prosecutors also say a second woman died three months later from injuries suffered in the crash, which occurred in the upmarket business district of Sandton in Johannesburg.
Zuma initially avoided prosecution over the incident but he was summoned to court last week to answer the charges.
Today, the Randburg Magistrate’s Court adjourned proceedings until Aug. 23. Zuma’s lawyers said they hoped to agree a start date for a trial then.
The Black First Land First (BLF) lobby group, which says Duduzane Zuma is the victim of a political vendetta, scuffled with members of Afriforum, a group which promotes the rights of the white Afrikaner community and had called for him to be prosecuted over the fatal 2014 crash.
Thursday’s court appearance was the second one this week for Zuma.
On Monday, Duduzane Zuma appeared in leg irons at another Johannesburg court in connection to a wider corruption case involving his father, former South African president, Jacob Zum. In that case, the younger Zuma is accused of taking former deputy finance minister Mcebisi Jonas to an October 2015 meeting with the Gupta family, friends of his father, who allegedly offered Jonas a bribe of over 600 million rand in his presence.
Duduzane Zuma’s lawyers say he will contest those charges as well.
He was released on bail of 100,000 rand ($7,420).
