THE ANC Youth League warned yesterday it would take the law into its own hands if Plettenberg Bay driver Herman van Zyl was acquitted of allegedly dragging a petrol pump attendant next to his car.
About 50 members marched to the Magistrate’s Court and presented a memorandum to chief prosecutor Gavin Capes, warning of “calamitous consequences if the accused is acquitted because of negligence on the part of the state”.
“If the court fails to convict, we will have to bring him before our own court … and if we convict him, we will have to eliminate him,” said Bitou ANCYL chairman Thembela Mhlana.
Capes accepted the memorandum and pledged that any mistakes made in preparing the prosecution’s case, as claimed by the ANCYL, would be rectified.
“We will look into this matter seriously,” Capes added.
In the memorandum, the ANCYL said the alleged incident was “racially motivated” and repeated its earlier complaint that the police had neglected to obtain a copy of security camera footage which it claimed had apparently been lost.
Van Zyl faces a charge of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm for allegedly grabbing pump attendant Mike Ntwanambi, 26, by the collar and dragging him for about 35m next to his car when he pulled off from the Shell Ultra City in Plettenberg Bay on October 26 last year.
The ANCYL also claimed that attempts had been made to bribe Ntwanambi, a youth league member, to drop the complaint and that witnesses had also been offered bribes to not testify.
The case was set to go to trial on Thursday next week, but a prosecutor had apparently not yet been appointed.
“How much time is left for preparation?” the Bitou ANCYL asked in the memorandum handed to Capes.
“We therefore demand that a senior investigating team as well as a senior prosecuting team be appointed with immediate effect in order to give this important matter the necessary attention it deserves.”
Ntwanambi claims he fell to the ground when Van Zyl let go, and sustained abrasions and bruising.
According to police reports, Van Zyl apparently took offence after the pump attendant had told him to “go well, go Shell”.
Ntwanambi has also launched a civil case against Van Zyl.
He is demanding about R275000 together with costs for public humiliation, medical expenses incurred, loss of earnings, pain, suffering and psychological trauma.
In response, attorneys acting for Van Zyl said Ntwanambi had “accidentally tripped” while the two men were playing a game and should have foreseen that he might get hurt.
Ntwanambi had, in fact, “consented to be subjected to the risk of injury”, Van Zyl’s lawyers said.
Source: The Herald Online
what a douche
what a douche
what a douche
The ANCYL is out of control. Totally. Far bigger issue for me than the abrasions and bruising mike suffered.