judge in drunk arrest was 'gone, really gone'
8 January 2007

Pretoria High Court Judge Nkola Motata was "drunk, argumentative, loud and swearing like a trooper" when he was arrested for drunken driving at the weekend.

This is according to witnesses at the scene of an accident which saw him ram his silver Jaguar into the wall of a Hurlingham property in the early hours of Saturday.

"He was gone, really gone and humiliated himself by falling when he tried to stand," a witness said. He added that the judge refused to take a breathalyser test, ignored the metro police's pleas to co-operate and refused to get out of his car.  The Johannesburg metro police and the SAPS refused to confirm the identity of the judge, except to say that an official of the justice department had been charged with drunken driving and malicious damage to property and was released on  R1 000 bail after spending the night in the Parkview police cells.

"He will appear in the (Randburg magistrate's) court soon," said police spokesperson Director Govindsamy Mariemuthoo.

A witness at the scene, who did not want be identified, said he was shocked to find out that the man was a judge, something he discovered when he looked into the open boot of the car.

"The impact of the accident left the boot wide open and there were some files visible addressed to Judge Motata and some official SAPS files. One woman said 'this is worse than McBride'," he said.

The witness took pictures of the judge and recorded all his discussions with him on his cellphone. A transcript of the discussion revealed a belligerent Motata, who swore freely.

One of several cellphone photographs shows Motata slumped in the driver's seat. Another shows the damage to the wall and electric fence of the property while another shows the judge staring wide-eyed.

Motata, a former member of the amnesty committee of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, is the latest in a growing number of high-profile individuals who have found themselves at odds with the law because of alleged drunken driving.

Two weeks ago, Ekurhuleni metro police chief Robert McBride rolled his car in Centurion. Witnesses alleged he was under the influence of alcohol.

The results of the tests would be known in a couple of days.
 
Botho Molosankwe, www.legalnet.co.za