The widow of a former body guard of South African Reserve Bank Governor Tito Mboweni has instituted a claim for more than R2,9-million from a former Pretoria traffic officer and the Tshwane city council.
Myra Smith’s husband, Davis Smith, was 29 when he was shot dead on the N1 highway near Rooihuiskraal on May 26 2000. Smith was at the time on his way to Johannesburg International airport to fetch Mboweni.
It is claimed that an argument broke out on the highway between Smith and Joseph du Preez, who was a traffic officer at the time.
The two made offensive gestures at each other before pulling off the road.
The result of the argument was that Smith was shot four times, and died instantly on the scene.
Du Preez, however, stated in court papers he was justified in shooting Smith. He said Smith had wanted to shoot him and he, Du Preez, had acted in self-defence.
The widow said in court papers that her husband posed no threat to Du Preez at the time of the shooting.
She claims R2,2-million in her personal capacity and R722 000 on behalf of the couple’s five-year-old daughter Kamryn. The money was calculated as a percentage of Smith’s earnings over 20 years.
At the time of his death, he was paid R15 048 a month for guarding Mboweni. A further R11 394 was claimed for his funeral expenses.
A police ballistic expert testified on Friday on technical aspects of the shooting. — Sapa