Motata four times over legal limit, court hears

Judge Nkola Motata’s blood-alcohol level was four times over the legal limit when a blood sample was drawn from him, the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court has heard, the Star reported on Thursday.

His blood-alcohol concentration was 0,2%—while the legal limit is 0,05%—three-and-a-half hours after he crashed his Jaguar into the wall of a Hurlingham, Johannesburg, property, an expert told the court during Wednesday’s proceedings.

Professor Michael Stewart had been asked to help the prosecution determine Motata’s blood-alcohol level at the time of the crash.

Using a process called “back extrapolation”—based on the rate at which the body metabolises alcohol—he determined that Motata’s blood-alcohol level could have been between 0,23g and 0,26g at the time of the crash.

Motata’s lawyer, Daniel Dorfling, disputed the findings. During cross-examination, Stewart told him that he had not analysed the blood himself, did not know what kind of alcohol was consumed, when, over what period or if on a full or an empty stomach.

Motata crashed his Jaguar into the wall on January 6 2007, allegedly while drunk.—Sapa