Siyabonga Nqakula, son of the Minister of Safety and Security, was on Monday found guilty in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on a charge of driving under the influence of alcohol.
The charge stemmed from a late night head-on collision in the Cape Town CBD in March last year after he had consumed three glasses of champagne in a restaurant.
Nqakula had driven through the night with his brother and two friends from Johannesburg to Cape Town to attend a jazz festival and had arrived in the city at about 9am.
Without having any rest, Nqakula and his companions had spent the day visiting friends before drinking champagne in the restaurant.
Nqakula appeared before magistrate Phindi Norman, who ruled that a second charge of reckless or negligent driving would amount to a duplication of charges and for this reason he was found not guilty on this charge.
The case continues. – Sapa