CONTROVERSIAL ANC bigwig Tony Yengeni intends to ask the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) to have his drunk driving case withdrawn.
Yengeni, an ANC national executive committee member and former parliamentary chief whip, was arrested in the Cape Town CBD in August last year after law enforcement officials spotted him allegedly driving his luxury Maserati unsteadily.
At the time, city councillor JP Smith, responsible for safety and security, said Yengeni had been found to be substantially over the legal blood-alcohol level of 0.05% and a blood sample had been taken from him which was sent for laboratory testing.
He appeared in the Cape Town Magistrates’ Court yesterday.
His lawyer Sylvester Vogel asked the court to postpone the case for a month to allow Yengeni to make representations to the NDPP.
Vogel said he also needed time to study a number of documents the prosecution intends to use to bolster its case.
“We are not sure whether we will need further documents from the state but we will inform them timeously,” Vogel said.
The court postponed the matter to August 12 and Yengeni’s R500 bail was extended.
It is not the first time Yengeni has had to answer to drunk driving charges.
He was arrested on similar charges in 2007 but later acquitted after the court found that his blood sample had been kept at former Goodwood Police Station commander Siphiwe Hewana’s office instead of being sent for forensic analysis.
Yengeni wants drunk driving case dropped
Yengeni, an ANC national executive committee member and former parliamentary chief whip, was arrested in the Cape Town CBD in August last year after law enforcement officials spotted him allegedly driving his luxury Maserati unsteadily.
At the time, city councillor JP Smith, responsible for safety and security, said Yengeni had been found to be substantially over the legal blood-alcohol level of 0.05% and a blood sample had been taken from him which was sent for laboratory testing.
He appeared in the Cape Town Magistrates’ Court yesterday.
His lawyer Sylvester Vogel asked the court to postpone the case for a month to allow Yengeni to make representations to the NDPP.
Vogel said he also needed time to study a number of documents the prosecution intends to use to bolster its case.
“We are not sure whether we will need further documents from the state but we will inform them timeously,” Vogel said.
The court postponed the matter to August 12 and Yengeni’s R500 bail was extended.
It is not the first time Yengeni has had to answer to drunk driving charges.
He was arrested on similar charges in 2007 but later acquitted after the court found that his blood sample had been kept at former Goodwood Police Station commander Siphiwe Hewana’s office instead of being sent for forensic analysis.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending Now
Latest Videos