The trial of a man facing a culpable homicide charge in connection with the death of former president Nelson Mandela’s granddaughter continues in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.

Sizwe Mankazana, 25, also faces a charge of reckless or negligent driving.

A friend of the Mandela family, he was driving Zenani Mandela home after a World Cup concert on the night of June 11, 2010, when they crashed just before the double-decker section of the M1 highway.

The car hit a steel barrier, which penetrated it. Zenani, who was in the back seat, was killed. Mankazana and another passenger were slightly injured.

On Wednesday, Mankazana’s counsel submitted that accident specialist Craig Proctor-Parker had miscalculated when he said the car was going 162km/h at the time of the crash.

Under cross-examination, Proctor-Parker said his opinion was that excessive speed was a major cause of the accident, but he conceded that it was possible the car may have been travelling at a speed lower than 100km/h. The speed limit on that section of road is 80km/h.

By Sapa