Pretoria High Court Judge Nkola Motata appeared briefly in a magistrate’s chambers in the Hillbrow courts on Tuesday morning in connection with an alleged drunken-driving incident, instead of in open court.
Magistrate H Visser said Motata will appear again in court three in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on April 13.
Visser said the senior prosecutor had requested that Motata appear in chambers. He was represented by two attorneys.
”The Director of Public Prosecutions is still waiting for the blood results so that they can decide whether to prosecute or not,” he said.
Visser said Motata had not been charged.
Senior prosecutor Nathi Mncube refused to comment on the matter and referred reporters to the court book for information.
Earlier on Tuesday, reporters waited in court for hours for Motata’s appearance, only to be told he had left.
Motata was expected to appear in court one, but had still not appeared after 10am and his case was not on the roll.
A police officer told reporters that Motata had already appeared in court four, while other police officers said he appeared in a magistrate’s chambers then left.
Mncube, however, still insisted that Motata had not appeared.
”All first appearances take place in court one,” Mncube said.
Initially, Mncube told reporters that Motata’s case docket had not arrived, and later refused to tell reporters if it had arrived after 10am.
”I cannot answer that,” he said.
Motata arrived at the court in a blue Jaguar after 9am. He tried to enter the court basement parking, but drove off as soon as he saw photographers.
A security guard tried in vain to prevent photographers from taking pictures of Motata and his wife as they entered the court.
Motata was arrested on charges of drunken driving last month after he reportedly drove into a wall in Hurlingham, Johannesburg.
He allegedly resisted arrest and was put in a police car at the scene by five metro police officers.
Metro police said two women officers on the scene had called for assistance after the driver became ”uncooperative”.
Motata was arrested and released on bail of R1 000 from the Parkview police station.
He is currently on leave of absence from duty until the end of February. — Sapa