Being singled out as ”the white guy” is what prompted Richard Baird to record Judge Nkola Motata’s rantings, allegedly while drunk, the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court heard on Friday.
According to Baird, Motata had said ”fuck the white guy” countless times. Baird said those words were not on any of the recordings heard in court because they had preceded them and had prompted him to begin recording.
Motata’s lawyer, Danie Dorfling, said that Motata did not appear to have sworn before a policewoman told him to ”mind his words”.
Baird said: ”There was a general antagonism, with the accused as the source of it, that goes on throughout the evening.”
On January 6 2007 Motata crashed his Jaguar into the wall of Baird’s Hurlingham property. Motata is facing charges of drunken driving and defeating the ends of justice for allegedly resisting arrest.
Meanwhile, an outburst by an angry Motata on Thursday in court earned him a rebuke from the magistrate.
”Mr Motata, you are now disturbing proceedings,” said magistrate Desmond Nair after Motata approached his counsel twice before standing up and attempting to speak to Nair directly.
Motata was apparently unhappy with Nair’s decision to interrupt the defence’s cross-examination in order to replay five recordings.
Dorfling said his client rather wanted to continue with the cross-examination or just listen to the clip of the recordings relevant to their questions.
He said otherwise the ”design” of their defence would be disrupted if the cross-examination of witness Richard Baird would have to continue on Friday.
The magistrate ruled against the request.
Motata told the magistrate he did not want his right to consult with his legal team to be taken away.
”I have the right to give my legal team instruction.”
He asked the magistrate if he could address him directly, ”so that there is no triangle”.
Nair then told Dorfling and Motata: ”I just want to draw your attention that the conduct of Mr Motata is bordering on being contemptuous to court and I won’t allow it.”
Nair told Motata that he was represented by Dorfling and could make submissions through him. He would not accept ”outbursts, such as what I’ve seen now”. — Sapa