Convicted fraudster and former ANC chief whip Tony Yengeni has allegedly collided with the law again.

A man who is alleged to be Yengeni was seen behind the wheel of a Mercedes-Benz, swerving across both lanes on a long stretch of Marine Drive, Table View, even after all four tyres burst as the car mounted the pavement on the wrong side of the road.

The car was gone before the police arrived and its driver's blood-alcohol level was never tested.

A couple from Duynefontein, returning home after their son's school prize-giving ceremony on the evening of Tuesday October 4, got caught behind the swerving car. Some hours earlier Yengeni had attended Brett Kebble's funeral service in St George's Cathedral.

The black Mercedes-Benz Kompressor, with tinted windows and registration number CA 717870, was driving from Dolphin Beach towards Table View when it hit and chipped the pavement in front of the Sea Spray Apartments on Marine Drive, near the Spur and the Total Service Station, they said.

It continued down the road on the rims of its wheels before eventually stopping, they said.

"It was scary. Thank God there weren't any pedestrians who could have been killed or maimed," said the wife.

According to Western Cape Traffic Department records, the car is registered to LE Yengeni of Fitz Patrick (sic) Road, Milnerton.

Yengeni married former struggle comrade, Lumka Nyamza, while training in Angola as a member of uMkonto weSizwe.

The Duynefontein couple, who asked not to be named, attempted to overtake the Mercedes-Benz, but decided it would be too dangerous.

After unsuccessfully flashing its driver, thinking it was "naughty teenagers driving recklessly with their parents' car", they called the police, while keeping a safe following distance. When the car stopped, they parked behind it, waiting for the police.

"After a lengthy conversation to the police, giving details ... we waited for their arrival, to no avail. We then managed to get two Chubb Security people nearby to come and assist," the witness said.

The man said one Chubb official described the driver as "a rude parliamentarian", after speaking to him briefly through the driver's seat window.

The official allegedly told the couple the police would not arrive, due to a shooting in nearby Du Noon, and offered to call a breakdown service for the Mercedes-Benz.

But a few seconds later the car drove off on flat tyres. The husband said that after looking through the rolled-down window he recognised the driver as Yengeni, a figure often seen on television and in the press.

Chubb regional director Martin Smolders confirmed that his officers were on the scene and found the man behind the wheel "very abusive".

"I heard he told my guys, 'Do you know who I am?'," said Smolders.

The couple's Vodacom cellphone records show that they called the police at 9.34pm and spoke to them for two minutes and 14 seconds. Police spokeswoman Debbie Pfeiffer said police radio control at 10111 received the call at the said time and date.

The descriptions given to the police and the media were identical.

A patrol vehicle was sent to find the Mercedes-Benz, but when it arrived no one was there.

An investigation had been launched, Pfeiffer said. Police were gathering witnesses and possible security camera footage from nearby apartment buildings, she said.

When Yengeni was first phoned for comment on Tuesday, he said he was "busy" and should be contacted an hour later. He was in Durban, attending former deputy president Jacob Zuma's second court appearance.

After numerous attempts to reach him, the Cape Times made contact with him again yesterday.

When asked to comment, he said: "I can't talk. I'm driving now. Do you want me to break the law? Call me in an hour."

Despite numerous calls Yengeni did not answer his phone.

Yengeni is awaiting the outcome of his appeal against a four-year sentence for defrauding parliament over an undeclared discount on a 4x4 Mercedes-Benz.

With acknowledgements to Karen Breytenbach and the Cape Times.