Siyabonga Nqakula, the son of Minister of Safety and Security Charles Nqakula, will testify that he fell asleep at the wheel before a head-on collision, a Cape Town magistrate heard on Monday.
Nqakula (27), of Johannesburg, has pleaded not guilty to charges of drunken and reckless driving.
Under cross-examination on Monday was Constable Dawood Suliman, the first police officer on the scene of the accident, which took place in Salt River, Cape Town, just before midnight on March 29.
Nqakula allegedly veered into an oncoming lane and drove straight into a car despite the fact it was flashing its lights and hooting.
Suliman had earlier testified that Nqakula was unsteady on his feet after the crash, that his speech was slurred and his breath smelled of alcohol.
Under questioning by Nqakula’s advocate Sakkie Maartens, Suliman conceded on Monday that he did not mention slurred speech in the statement he drew up immediately after the incident.
However, he denied that the ”slurred” was an afterthought, or that, in Maartens’s words, he ”just did what the average officer does in a drunken driving case”.
Nqakula had remained silent when he asked him if he was the driver of one of the vehicles, but did mention he had had ”two or so” drinks.
Nqakula did not tell him he did not feel well, or that he had back and neck pain as a result of the collision.
Maartens said his client’s version would be that he unexpectedly fell asleep at the wheel, which was why he paid no attention to the hooting and flashing lights.
Suliman said he could not dispute that, but Nqakula made no mention to him of falling asleep.
”I made attempts to ask the accused about the accident but I was getting nothing from him,” he said.
Maartens said he intended to call Nqakula, possibly as the only witness for the defence.
Magistrate Phindi Norman postponed the case to March 10. — Sapa