Burry Stander's family wants answers

The family of Olympic cyclist Burry Stander has approached the chief prosecutor for answers on why charges have been dropped against a taxi driver allegedly involved in his death.

 

"We thought we could trust the legal system, but we have now lost all faith," his widow, Cherise Stander, told the weekly.

 

"An innocent life was taken and justice needs to take its course."

 

Stander said the family was waiting for answers from the chief prosecutor about the case was put on hold and what the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) was doing to get the case back onto the court roll.

 

NPA spokeswoman Natasha Ramkisson earlier this week said the case against minibus taxi driver Njabulo Nyawose was withdrawn in the Port Shepstone Magistrate's Court.

 

This was pending a decision by the director of public prosecutions.

 

Nyawose faced a charge of culpable homicide or an alternative charge of reckless or negligent driving.

 

Stander, 25, died on January 3 when a minibus taxi struck him while he was cycling in Shelley Beach on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast.

 

He was fifth in the men's cross-country race at the 2012 London Olympics. Four years earlier, at the Beijing Games, he finished 15th in the cross-country event.

 

In 2011, Stander became the first South African to win the Cape Epic stage race in the Western Cape with Swiss partner Christoph Sauser. The pair defended their title in 2012.

 

-Sapa