Johannesburg - President Jacob Zuma's son Duduzane should be held criminally liable for an accident in which a woman was killed, an inquest heard on Monday.
Prosecutor Yusuf Baba argued that Zuma had been negligent by not lowering his speed in wet road conditions.
“In the majority of wet weather cases, the defendant was found negligent for not reducing speed to meet weather conditions,” he told the inquest in the Randburg Magistrate's Court during closing arguments.
On February 1 this year, Zuma's car rear-ended Jabulani Vusi Dlamini's minibus taxi on the M1 South off-ramp to Grayston Drive in Sandton.
Taxi passenger Phumzile Dube was killed and three others were injured.
Zuma said he lost control of his Porsche after it hit a puddle in rainy conditions.
“This entire case, it is my submission, deals [with] negligence,” Baba said.
Baba said the test for negligence was reasonable forseeability and that a reasonable driver should drive at a low speed during wet weather and take into consideration that the road may be slippery.
Using South African and American case law, Baba rejected Zuma's argument that he had aquaplaned.
Baba argued that Zuma had been driving in the wet conditions for a while before the accident occurred and therefore there had not been a “sudden and unforeseeable change” in the road conditions.
Dlamini could not be held accountable for the death of Dube as he did not cause the accident, Baba said.
During proceedings, Zuma sat in the dock wearing a grey suit. Dlamini sat in the back seat of the public gallery wearing a black shirt and cream jacket.
In July, the National Prosecuting Authority said it declined to prosecute Zuma due to insufficient evidence. The matter was referred to a magistrate for a formal inquest to determine whether the accident was caused by human error.
Sapa