Jimmy family accuse Ford SA of using religion and God to try to 'manipulate' them

23 May 2017 - 17:38 By Graeme Hosken
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Ford SA CEO Jeffery Nemeth. File photo.
Ford SA CEO Jeffery Nemeth. File photo.
Image: Supplied

Ford SA has turned to God in a move the Reshall Jimmy family see as a bid to silence them.

The family have been waging a social media onslaught against the global car manufacturing giant since their brother and son‚ Reshall Jimmy‚ burnt to death in December 2015 in his luxury Ford Kuga SUV‚ while on holiday in the Wilderness in the Western Cape.

Since his death over 50 Kugas have caught alight across South Africa with the National Consumer Commission placing the company under official investigation.

Police and private forensic investigators maintain that the fire was caused by an electrical fault behind the dashboard on the passenger side of the vehicle. Ford believes the fire started at the back of the car‚ but have been unable to explain what caused the blaze.

  • Irate Kuga owners still await answers as probe deepens into FordFord Kuga fire victims are furious with the National Consumer Commission over the silence around its investigation into the global car manufacturer. 

Reshall’s sister Renisha Jimmy told The Times that outgoing Ford SA CEO Jeffrey Nemeth had requested a meeting with her and her ailing mother Polly‚ overseen by Anglican Archbishop Thabo Makgoba.

The meeting was held in Johannesburg on Friday.

Ford declined to comment on the meeting‚ with Makgoba telling The Times his "pastoral obligations" prevented him from commenting unless the family gave him permission.

In an email Ford spokesman‚ Rella Bernardes‚ said: "Given the sensitive and unique circumstances of the case relating to the death of Reshall Jimmy‚ and the possibility of ongoing legal proceedings‚ we have nothing further to add on this matter at this time."

  • Kuga sales down but Ford stays strong in SA car marketFord Kuga sales have tanked but the iconic US brand has held its market share on other models. 

It is not known why Nemeth asked the Anglican Church to oversee the meeting and why he did not approach a Hindu priest. The Jimmy family is Hindu.

Renisha said: "My mother was initially reluctant‚ but the family persuaded her on the belief that Nemeth wanted to make amends and take responsibility for Reshall's death."

She said in the months leading up to the meeting‚ Nemeth had told her in Whatsapp messages that he was travelling to the US to seek a mandate from Ford Global to settle the matter and bring them closure.

The Times is in possession of Whatsapp messages sent between Nemeth and Jimmy which indicate how he wishes to meet her mother‚ how he has a mandate from Ford to settle the matter‚ that he felt a connection with the family‚ how the saga was taking an emotional toll on him and his children and how he "would be judged by my actions‚ my ethics and intent by my God".

  • Ford recalls Ford Fiesta ST modelsDays after Ford SA CEO Jeffery Nemeth was summoned to the vehicle manufacturer's headquarters in the US‚ the multinational has recalled 1 078 Ford Fiesta ST models in South Africa. 

Instead‚ says Jimmy‚ her mother was left "distraught" by the meeting with Nemeth. She said Nemeth had traumatised her mother through accusations that Jimmy was murdered and that the company was not responsible for his death.

"From the onset he led us to believe that he wanted to help and bring us closure before he returns to the US. We trusted him‚ especially when he suggested we meet the Archbishop.

"Initially at the meeting he seemed genuine‚ but it changed when he told us that they had additional information and that Reshall was murdered and that they had witness statements‚ which contradicted the post mortem report."

Jimmy said when Nemeth told them that her mother broke down.

"Not even at Reshall's funeral did my mother cry like that. When I asked what he was basing this on he said witness statements‚ but that was rubbish. The police have subsequently confirmed to us that Reshall was not shot. The so-called bullet hole in Reshall's head‚ which Nemeth referred to‚ was made by his skull cracking from the heat of the fire. The police have no such statements in their docket. It’s a lie."

  • Insurers gun for Ford SA after EcoSports catch fireAnother Ford vehicle fire controversy is raging after two insurance brands confirmed they are planning to take legal action against the international carmaker. 

Jimmy said Nemeth's settlement offer was to give the family another Ford and have the company pay off the money Reshall still owned on his car.

"In the meeting he told us he was coming to us as a human being not a company CEO‚ that Ford's senior management were selected on their spirituality and closeness to God‚ but from what he told us‚ the lies that Reshall was murdered‚ and that Ford's settlement offer was another Ford to pay off his car‚ was just an insult.

"It felt like someone had stabbed us in the back and then twisted the knife for good measure."

She said adding to the insult was when Nemeth requested a "few" documents so he could help them find closure.

The documents‚ Jimmy said Nemeth requested‚ were the police docket and scene photographs and post mortem‚ toxicology and fire reports‚ "which they already have".

"He also wanted Reshall's car service history‚ something which Ford has; Reshall's medical history for the past two years; CCTV footage of all of Reshall's movements in the last 48 hours before he died and his credit card receipts and cellphone history 48 hours before he died; access to his car wreckage - which would be the fourth time Ford has viewed the car - and permission to interview our family and Reshall's friends and colleagues."

Nemeth‚ she said‚ had betrayed them.

"He used his religion and God to manipulate us. All he wanted to do was redeem himself and Ford in front of his God so he could leave South Africa with a clear conscience. It’s clear this meeting was just about him."

-TMG Digital/The Times

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