Ford broke the law when it failed to tell the National Consumer Commission (NCC) of Kuga owner Reshall Jimmy’s death – and potentially jeopardised public safety by not telling the motor industry ombudsman. ‘It is clear that Ford was obliged to inform the commission of Jimmy’s death. They failed to do so. It has failed to comply with the law,’ Colonel Rozelle Kruger‚ a legal officer in the Western Cape Police Commissioner’s Office, is quoted as saying in a BusinessLIVE report.

In a number of affidavits‚ police have accused the car manufacturing giant of deliberately obstructing detectives in their investigation into Jimmy’s death. Jimmy died when his car caught fire. In an affidavit, Kruger responded to Ford’s urgent High Court application to obtain the evidence in the police inquest docket into Jimmy’s death, noting that ‘in terms of the Consumer Protection Act‚ the commission must promote the development of industry wide codes of practice … to receive notice of consumer complaints or reports of product failures‚ defects or hazards… The commission can conduct an investigation into the nature‚ causes and degree of risk to the public… and notify consumers of the risk pertaining to those goods and if the goods are unsafe recall the goods.’

The report notes that while Ford says the fire started at the back of the car‚ it has been unable to explain the cause. Police and private and insurance forensic fire investigators believe an electrical fault behind the dashboard on the passenger side of the vehicle caused the fire.

Full BusinessLIVE report