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Zuma guard crash victim talks to cops

SUMMONED: Sandrino du Pont. Pic. Unknown
SUMMONED: Sandrino du Pont. Pic. Unknown

THE Nelspruit police have finally come to their senses and sent a detective to the border to take a statement from Sandrino du Pont.

THE Nelspruit police have finally come to their senses and sent a detective to the border to take a statement from Sandrino du Pont.

Du Pont is a Swazi national the police allegedly threatened to arrest for colliding with a member of President Jacob Zuma's security team.

A policeman, identified only as Shabangu, allegedly called du Pont to say he was waiting at the Oshoek border post for him to come from Manzini so a statement on the accident could be taken.

Du Pont told Sowetan that he agreed to travel from his home at Zakhele Trust near Manzini to the border gate.

He pointed out that he was not feeling well following the accident.

"I don't understand how the police in your country operate.

"I told this cop that I was still not feeling well after the accident that happened in Nelspruit on Saturday, but he insisted that I travel nearly 100km to meet him at the border.

"Maybe he does not have a passport, otherwise he would have crossed over to meet me at home," said du Pont.

He added that he wanted the police to investigate a senior Nelspruit officer who ordered that he be arrested after the accident.

Nelspruit police spokesperson Inspector Dawie Pretorius has refused to comment on the "arrest threat".

But he confirmed that a detective had been dispatched to the Oshoek border gate to take a statement from du Pont.

"One of our detectives went there to take a statement from the complainant," Pretorius said yesterday.

The accident happened on the corner of the N4 highway and Madiba Drive on Saturday afternoon.

Nelspruit police station has earned itself the title of being one of South Africa's controversial stations over the years.

This because of incidents such as the arrest of a number of policemen from the station on charges ranging from armed robbery and burglary to theft.

Accusations that the station was starving inmates surfaced again this week, about a year after Sowetan published a similar story.

A female police captain was recently given a warning after being found guilty of touching a man's genitals while searching him.

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