Judge Nkola John Motata’s lawyers spent Thursday morning trying to find technical problems with five recordings capturing the judge’s rantings, made while he was allegedly drunk following a car accident.
Defence advocate Danie Dorfling cross-examined witness Richard Baird, who made the recordings, in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court about the process of transferring the recordings from his cellphone on to his laptop, and then on to CDs.
In January 2007, Motata crashed his Jaguar into the wall of Baird’s Hurlingham, Johannesburg, property.
On Thursday Baird, referring to the recordings, said: ”If it is found on the CD then it must have come off my laptop.”
Dorfling also questioned Baird on why he had deleted some pictures of the judge in his car without having told the court about it.
”It didn’t cross my mind as significant,” said Baird.
”They were pictures that would reveal nothing because they were blurred pictures. It would make no difference as evidence.”
The tenant on Baird’s property, Lucky Melk, is expected to appear as a witness later on Thursday. Baird told the court that he received a call from Melk at 12.23am on the night of the accident.
Baird said he was on the scene within 10 minutes and started making his recordings half an hour later.
Disputed recordings
On Wednesday, the court heard a recording of Motata swearing at Baird. ”We’ll repair the damage, it’s not a problem,” the judge was heard saying.
”However, he [Baird] must not degrade me. No Boer is going to undermine me; fuck him, he mustn’t insult me, fuck him, I don’t care,” Motata was heard saying in the recording Baird made on an i-mate cellphone.
The court heard all five audio recordings made at the scene of Motata’s car accident.
This followed a Pretoria High Court ruling that dismissed Motata’s application to stop the disputed recordings from being played during a trial-within-a-trial to test their admissibility.
Baird made the recordings on his cellphone and then downloaded the clips to his computer.
Setswana and Sesotho could be heard spoken on some of the recordings and magistrate Desmond Nair had to call in interpreters to translate.
In the first recording heard in court, Motata was heard saying: ”They think they have apprehended me with something they know. My children … this used to be the white man’s land, even if they can have more land … South Africa is ours, we are ruling South Africa.”
The court heard how metro police at the scene pleaded with Motata to calm down and ”leave Baird alone” as he swore at Baird.
Motata was also heard demanding his car keys back and swearing.
”Someone took my keys … the white fellow must tell who took my keys … Fuck you … I don’t have to cooperate with you [metro police]”.
During cross-examination, defence Dorfling queried the originality and quality of the audio recordings heard in court. — Sapa