Johannesburg - As Duduzane Zuma is expected to appear in court to face two charges of culpable homicide, it is not clear where in the world he is. Duduzane has been seen as instrumental in a state capture project that gripped the country under his father former president Jacob Zuma's presidency.
The extent of his relationship with the controversial Gupta family was revealed in leaked Gupta emails. Duduzane benefited financially from his father's relationship with the Guptas and was seen as their business partner. He was also allegedly gifted with an R18 million apartment in Dubai, a destination where the Guptas often travel to.
Duduzane was last known to be in Dubai, where he gave an interview to the BBC, in which he praised the Guptas as being "good guys". Although some members of the Gupta family have run into trouble with the law with their accounts being frozen by the NPA’s Assets Forfeiture Unit, Duduzane has remained unscathed. No charges have yet to be brought against him regarding state capture allegations.
Lobby groups and political parties have previously opened cases against Duduzane and the Guptas, but not much as resulted in those cases. However, an incident that took place in 2014 may be the one that will bring him before a court.
The NPA confirmed that he had been charged, but said they were not aware where he is and if he would show up for the court appearance. NPA spokesperson Phindi Louw confirmed that Duduzane was issued with a summons. "Yes, he is expected to appear on July 12. We are not sure if he will appear or not, we have issued a summons. If he does not appear we will issue a warrant of arrest," said Louw.
Duduzane's charges stem from a 2014 accident where he crashed his Porsche into a taxi on the M1 in Joburg. The incident killed Phumzile Dube and another woman died in hospital a few weeks later - although her cause of death has been disputed. The NPA had previously decided not prosecute Duduzane in 2015 even though a judge had ruled that he had a case to answer regarding the accident and the ultimate death of Dube.
Earlier this year, the NPA announced that they would be looking into the charges against Duduzane, this was after lobby group Afriforum and former prosecutor Advocate Gerrie Nel threatened to privately prosecute Duduzane if the NPA did not take action and proceed with the homicide charges.
Duduzane’s brother, Nhlakanipho Vusi Zuma died on Sunday, and it is unclear if he will attend his brother’s funeral.