Ex-minister allegedly lied about the driver of the vehicle
Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Nosiviwe Mapisa- Nqakula’s husband and former MP Charles Nqakula’s luxury car was involved in an accident that left one passenger, a family relative, dead on Christmas Day in 2017.
The accident was allegedly kept under wraps as Nqakula’s car, a Jeep SRT, was driven by his nephew Loyiso Keti at the time of the crash.
According to police affidavits, the accident happened on the N3 south highway at the Marlboro off-ramp, when one of the tyres of Nqakula’s car burst and the car rolled several times and hit a street light.
One of the passengers was flung out of the car. The dramatic incident allegedly turned into another drama at the crime scene, as the uncle of the deceased accused Nqakula of lying to the police about the driver of the car.
This was allegedly after the police could not find the driver and one of the passengers at the accident scene.
This led to a war of words between Nqakula and the deceased’s uncle, who accused Nqakula of being responsible for his nephew’s death.
Keti, who was driving, with Glen Moore and two other passenger in the car, was later charged with culpable homicide.
All these details are contained in several affidavits, including that of Nqakula, deposed at the Sundringham police station, which is investigating the accident with the Johannesburg Metro Police Department.
The police affidavits show that the uncle, not known to Sunday World, had charged at Nqakula on his arrival at the crime scene and claimed that the security adviser to President Cyril Ramaphosa was present at the time of the accident.
However, in his affidavit filed in response to the allegations levelled against him, Nqakula explained that he was not there when the accident happened, saying he was only informed about the accident by an unknown caller who called him at 4am.
“On arrival at the accident scene, I found many police and I informed them that the car was mine. I was informed later that one of the passengers that was in my car is deceased,” reads Nqakula’s statement dated December 27 2017.
The former minister of safety and security further said he told the police that the deceased and other passengers were helping him at his house during the day, but he did not explain how they got to drive his car.
“I never said to the uncle of the deceased the driver of the vehicle was with me at the scene of crime after the accident. I found him at the scene and I was never unable to tell who the driver of the vehicle was as it is alleged by the first respondent at the accident,” said Nqakula in his statement.
Keti, who calls Nqakula his uncle, said he was given the car by the former ANC MP after they had helped him with arrangements for his family gathering at his house in Bruma.
He revealed that the accident happened when they were returning from Rosebank where they had gone to fetch one of their lady friends
who was working at a club.
This trip, the statement shows, happened about 10pm and Keti was driving with his friends and Joel, whom he said was Nqakula’s son, in the car.
In his statement, Keti said the deceased, Moore, was unconscious and having difficulty breathing after the accident. The statement further indicates that the deceased had a cut on his forehead, and was bleeding excessively from his mouth on the side of the road.
In the same statement, Keti said his aunt, Mapisa- Nqakula, was crying uncontrollably when she arrived at the accident scene with Nqakula.
He said the minister took him to the car, telling him to wait there until the police were done at the crime scene. Medical records seen by Sunday World show that the pathologists found traces of alcohol in Moore’s blood.
They suspected that the driver and the other two passengers were also drunk at the time of accident.
In a shocking twist, the police reports show that none of the survivors, including Nqakula’s nephew, were tested for alcohol at the accident scene.
Nqakula’s version was also disputed by a report by metro police investigating officer Herbert Muller, who revealed that the former ANC MP told him he did not know who was driving the car at the time of the accident.
Muller said he interviewed Nqakula because the driver of the car and another passenger had disappeared from the accident scene.
Keti’s mother, who refused to disclose her name, confirmed that the police obtained statements from her son but said he had done nothing wrong.
Minister Mapisa Nqakula and her husband read but did not respond to questions sent to them.
Gauteng police spokesperson Brigadier Mathapelo Peters promised to respond to the questions, but she had not done so at the time of going to print.
By Aubrey Mothombeni
