Yengeni to appear in court

The drunken driving case against African National Congress national executive committee member Tony Yengeni will continue at the Cape Town Magistrate's Court today.

He was arrested late on August 11, after City of Cape Town law enforcement officials saw him allegedly driving his Maserati erratically near the intersection of Somerset and Dixon roads in the Cape Town CBD.

He was released on bail of R500 and was warned to appear in court on March 4.

In a statement issued after his arrest, the city's safety and security mayoral committee member JP Smith said Yengeni had been one of 52 people arrested during a weekend operation.

Smith alleged that at least one of Yengeni's number plates was missing from his car at the time.

He said a screening device indicated that Yengeni was "substantially over" the legal blood-alcohol level of 0.05 percent.

For this reason, Yengeni was taken to the "shadow centre" in Athlone for a blood sample to be taken and sent to a laboratory for analysis.

In March, Yengeni's lawyer said he had received details of the charge from prosecutor Brian Hugh.

However, the details were inadequate and he had requested "further and better particulars" from the State.

In 2007, Yengeni was arrested in Goodwood, Cape Town, on a charge of drunken driving but was found not guilty.

At the time of his arrest in Goodwood, he was out on parole after his 2003 conviction for fraud.