South African court finds Zuma’s son not guilty over car crash death

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – A South African court on Friday found
Duduzane Zuma, son of former president Jacob Zuma, not guilty of
culpable homicide and negligent driving over a fatal car crash,
saying prosecutors had failed to prove their case beyond reasonable
doubt.

Duduzane Zuma’s Porsche sports car collided with a minibus taxi
on a highway in Johannesburg in February 2014, killing a woman and
injuring at least one other.

Zuma, who said he lost control of the car after a puddle caused
him to aquaplane, initially avoided prosecution after the National
Prosecuting Authority (NPA) decided not to charge him.

The NPA reversed its decision last year after a rights group
threatened to prosecute Zuma privately.

“I accept the defence argument that none of the evidence
presented established that there was anything that a reasonable man
in the position of the accused on that night would have foreseen,”
the judge at the Johannesburg court said.

“The state failed to prove the case against the accused beyond
reasonable doubt,” he said.

Duduzane attended the court hearing with his father. He had
pleaded not guilty.

Jacob Zuma told state broadcaster SABC he was pleased by the
ruling. Duduzane Zuma declined to answer questions from a SABC
reporter.