Blue Light Driver Guilty, but what about Mmemezi?

Two years after Thomas Ferreira was seriously injured after being knocked off his motorbike by a blue light vehicle going through a red traffic light, the driver, Joseph Motsamai Semitjie, has been found guilty of reckless or negligent driving, malicious damage to property, failure to provide assistance to the injured at an accident scene and inflicting injuries.

It now remains for Semitjie to be sentenced and an example made of him in order to help prevent such incidents in the future. However, has justice really been served? What happens to ex-MEC, Humphrey Mmemezi, who, it seems, instructed Semitjie to speed as he (the MEC) was late for a meeting?

It emerged during the trial that a previous driver for Mmemezi had laid a number of complaints against Mmemezi as his attitude was one of "comply now and complain later". Mmemezi should be held accountable for his apparent negligence yet he is reportedly headed for Parliament after the 2014 elections.

The person who should also be held to account is the one who allowed Semitjie to drive a VIP vehicle after he had failed two advanced driving courses. The SAPS are at fault and heads should roll. How many other VIP unit drivers are in the same position as Semitjie and how many other innocent civilians will be hurt?

The fact that nothing happened to Humphrey Mmemezi shows that the ANC does not care about Thomas Ferreira or any other civilian for that matter. Once again, there are different rules for members of the ANC elite who are entitled to behave as they wish with no consequences.

Statement issued by Kate Lorimer MPL, DA Gauteng Spokesperson on Community Safety, December 4 2013

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