Motata defence fights to keep recordings out of court

Judge Nkola Motata’s legal team is doing everything to prevent the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court from listening to five recordings entered as evidence by the state.

Defence attorney Danie Dorfling argued that allowing the court to hear the recordings, which are video recordings with no visuals, would deprive the accused of his constitutional right to a fair trial.

State prosecutor Zaais van Zyl had earlier said that the court should listen to the evidence provisionally and the authenticity and “evidentiary weight” of the recording could then be decided at the end of the trial.

The defence is opposing this, saying the originality and authenticity of the recording needs to be weighed up front.

“The accused would be denied a fair trial [if the recordings are heard provisionally], because to oppose evidence is his right if he wants to take issue with the originality and authenticity of the evidence prior to it being submitted,” Dorfling said.

He further added that the defence would seek a “trial in a trial” to deal with the admissibility of the video recordings prior to the court hearing them at a “provisional level”.—Sapa