Judge Nkola Motata was over the legal alcohol limit and abusive to police officers when arrested for drunken driving earlier this year, the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court heard on Monday.
The Star newspaper reported the state as alleging Motata was ”at least” four times over the legal alcohol limit when arrested. He also allegedly misspelled the name of his legal division as ”Transval Provinicial Divisionn” and struggled to write down his phone number.
The state claims the Pretoria High Court judge told the female police officers who tried to arrest him: ”Fuck you, stupid female officers, you can’t arrest me”, ”females can’t arrest me”, ”you stupid ladies can’t arrest me” and ”a female can’t arrest, it must be a male”, reported the newspaper.
The judge also failed on Monday to have his case moved from the ”inferior” magistrate’s court to the high court.
The newspaper said the state confirmed Motata was in a car collision in Hurlingham in the early hours of Saturday January 6.
Details of the state’s case were made public after the judge’s lawyers sent the state a detailed list of questions in July.
In the response compiled by deputy director Zaais van Zyl, SC, it is alleged that Motata did not initially ”apprehend” when he had hit a garden wall, ”smashing two sections as well as a pillar of the wall to bits and pieces”.
Van Zyl said that while no one saw the crash take place, the judge was found ”disoriented”, sitting behind the steering wheel and trying to move the car back on the road after it had crashed. Motata allegedly informed some of the police on the scene that ”he had been drinking wine that evening and that he had been at a party”.
The judge apparently could not walk or stand unassisted, was unsteady on his feet and had to lean against his vehicle to remain upright, said Van Zyl. ”He and his breath reeked of intoxicating liquor, as did his vehicle.” His speech was ”impaired slurred, stammering and otherwise affected”.
The judge was also apparently aggressive when asked to take a breathalyser test and resisted arrest. Minimum force was used to remove him from the vehicle, said Van Zyl.
The state alleges the judge also repeatedly threatened to sue the metro police if arrested, because he was a judge, reported the Star.
The trial will begin on September 26. — Sapa