Judicial inquest postponed: Adv. Gerrie Nel in court against Ford

Adv. Gerrie Nel, Head of AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit, today appeared in the Western Cape High Court on behalf of the Jimmy family in the judicial inquest into the death of Reshall Jimmy. Jimmy burnt to death in December 2015 when the Ford Kuga that he was driving caught alight. Ford Motor Company is also a party to the proceedings. The judicial inquest was postponed to 18 March 2019. This inquest will determine if Ford can be prosecuted for Jimmy’s death.

The evidence leader in this case has requested that the investigation be postponed. According to AfriForum’s legal team, this application was initiated by Ford and was done without any notice to the Jimmy family or their legal team. Neither the SAPS nor the Jimmy family requested this postponement, therefore this delay is, according to AfriForum, only in Ford’s interest.

“The postponement of the proceedings will not keep us from ensuring that justice prevails. We cannot allow big corporate companies to not accept responsibility in cases such as this. Proof points to the fire being caused by a mechanical error and we trust that this judicial inquest will bring the truth to light,” says Andrew Leask, Investigator at AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit.

This case is also an important next step in AfriForum’s strategy to establish the principle of private prosecution.