"Backdoor dealings" in Ford Kuga settlement, claims Reshall Jimmy's sister

The sister of Ford Kuga fire victim Reshall Jimmy claims there were some underhanded tactics involved in her brother's case.

In December 2015, Reshall Jimmy burnt to death in his Ford Kuga after the vehicle caught alight while he was on holiday in the Western Cape

Next week (Friday 4 December) will mark the fifth anniversary of Reshall's death.

The 33-year-old’s death became the subject of a judicial inquest in the Western Cape High Court last year.

The inquest confirmed that suicide and murder were ruled out as possible causes of death.

The family was initially assisted by the head of AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit, Advocate Gerrie Nel, who later withdrew from the inquest.

RELATED: 'Ford has treated us as if we're absolutely nothing' says Reshall Jimmy's sister

Reshall's sister, Renisha Jimmy, says no one has supported her attempts to pursue further legal action against Ford after Nel withdrew from the matter.

She also claims that the settlement agreement with the car manufacturer was accepted without her approval.

Renisha tells CapeTalk that documents were drafted by Ford on her behalf, without her consent.

I didn't accept it... I refused... I said I didn't want anything... It was accepted on my behalf by other parties.

Renisha Jimmy

I was told that my legal team are going to step down if I don't agree with what they are saying... Various things were drafted for me by Ford.

Renisha Jimmy

I only realised later that Ford had a huge hand in documentation that was presented saying it was coming from me. I want to speak out about it and I want to make sure that I don't allow them to hurt me legally as they have over the years.

Renisha Jimmy

RELATED: Competition Commission moves to prosecute Ford over Kuga fires

Renisha says she has written to the Western Cape High Court and is still committed to getting justice for her brother's death.

"I think my family was treated very unfairly and I still believe that Ford got away with Reshell's murder", she tells CapeTalk's Kieno Kammies.

Adv. Gerrie Nel said that he was stepping down, so if I had to pursue any further, I would have to start the whole fight again.

Renisha Jimmy

I haven't been happy with what happened so I have written to the High Court... There's various things that happened in the background that people are not aware of so I wanted to speak out about it.

Renisha Jimmy

I thought that they [the NCC] should have been more hands-on with his matter and dealt with Ford, because someone's life was taken.

Renisha Jimmy

Renisha believes the National Consumer Commission (NCC) could have done more to support her family.

According to the NCC's Joseph Selolo, the Jimmy family had withdrawn their complaint from the NCC as a part of its investigation.

Selolo says the NCC could not get involved in the judicial inquest involving the Jimmy family because it was outside of the commission's ambit.

A total of 53 people have been paid R50,000 each as part of a deal stemming from the Ford Kuga fire saga, Selelo explains.

Ford was fined R35 million last year by the NCC following a lengthy negotiation process.

Listen to the discussion on Today with Kieno Kammies:

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