Helicopter crash widows claiming R9m from police

Beeld reported on Monday that the women's lawyer Barry Hurter said the police had asked him several times not to go ahead with the application on February 2 in the High Court in Pretoria.

 

But he said the police had not responded to their previous summonses.

 

"It just does not happen. It is really difficult to litigate against the state attorney when their office is in disarray," said Hurter.

 

Diane Gouws, widow of warrant officer Thinus Gouws, Florence Davids, widow of warrant officer Colin Davids and Thuli Maduna, widow of colonel Percy Maduna submit in court papers pilot Captain Wickus Zaayman's alleged negligence caused the crash on June 23, 2010.

 

Sergeant Kobus Henning, warrant officer Dirk van Aswegen and Sergeant Daniel de Bruyn also died in the crash.

 

The office of the state attorney has indicated that it would oppose the claims because they would adversely affect the tax payer, and would also deny that Zaayman was responsible.