Two metro police officers have described as accurate audio recordings of conversations involving themselves after an alleged drunken-driving accident involving Judge Nkola Motata.
Frieda Ramasemo told the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday that she was called to the scene on January the 6 2007, along with her partner, Paulina.
Ramasemo said she was the one who could be heard on the recording saying ”mind your words”.
She said she was addressing people who had gathered at the accident scene and were making a lot of noise.
At points during the recordings, where another woman was heard talking to Motata, Ramasemo said she did not know who was speaking because at that time she was back at her patrol car talking on the radio.
”I was not there but it could be Paulina’s voice,” she said.
Ramasemo said there had not been any other woman officer on the scene besides her and Paulina.
Metro police officer Daniel Moratlhodi Madibo also confirmed that audio recordings of his conversations were accurate.
Madibo identified himself as the officer who told Motata: ”You are an old person, but you don’t want to think.”
Madibo said he still remembered the night.
”I can still remember, although not so well because I was hospitalised for quite some time,” said Madibo, who was involved in a car accident at a later date.
Madibo said he did not recall hearing Motata saying any ”vulgar words” in his presence.
He did not recognise Baird in court on Wednesday. He said it had been a long time since the incident. On the night, he had only seen Baird for about 20 minutes and had not spoken to him.
On Wednesday, the defence rejected a transcript of the audio recordings as invalid, saying a certificate validating the transcript could not be considered binding.
”The record is all but accurate. It is not even worth the paper it’s written on,” said defence advocate Danie Dorfling.
Prosecutor Zaais van Zyl disagreed, saying issue was only occasionally taken with extra words having been added to the transcript.
A trial within a trial is currently under way to determine the admissibility of five audio recordings made the night of the accident.
Earlier, the tenant of the Hurlingham property into which Motata crashed, Lucky Solomon Melk, said he was ”persuaded” to testify.
”I had a relationship with Mr Baird. I was a tenant and he was the landlord where, even though I did not want to testify or become a witness, I was actually persuaded to.”
Melk said he had tried to avoid police who came several times to his home to take a statement. He said he eventually agreed months later to give a statement after he was told by Baird that he would otherwise be arrested.
Melk said he did not hear the first words between the judge and Baird but said he saw it was a ”heated” and ”unpleasant” interaction.
Concerns
Meanwhile, on Wednesday concerns were voiced in the court over a South African Press Association (Sapa) report from last week’s proceedings.
Magistrate Desmond Nair raised the matter after he was shown a Sapa story that contained the words ”drunken kaffir”.
According to the Sapa report, the words could be heard in an audio recording of events at the scene of the judge’s accident.
State prosecutor Zaais van Zyl, who handed the Sapa report to the magistrate, said the ”k” word was never heard in the audio recordings.
Nair then urged the media to be responsible when reporting on court proceedings.
Sapa editor Mark van der Velden said the news agency had taken note of Nair’s remarks concerning the seven-day-old report and looked into the matter urgently.
It emerged — as could best be heard from audio recordings available on the internet — that the word ”kaffir” could not be clearly heard.
”Pending final verification from official transcripts, Sapa appreciates this having been pointed out, and is happy to set the record straight,” Van der Velden said.
Court will resume on Thursday morning when Nair will decide whether or not to postpone the trial. The state has requested a postponement until a witness, a woman metro officer, recovers from an operation. — Sapa