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As shober as a judge?“It is the spirit and not the form of law that keeps justice alive.”
I am sure that when the 14th Chief Justice of the United States, Judge Earl Warren uttered these words, he was referring to the spirit of man and not the spirit found in a bottle. Clearly, no one explained that to Judge Nkola Motata.
And remember that Julius Malema said of Judge Chris Nicholson (who gave the judgement in favour of Jacob Zuma a year ago), “We believe in the judge because he looked very sober.”
So I think we can say that even the ANC Youth League recognises the value of sobriety on the bench.
Motata was convicted last month of drunken driving. The judge has pleaded not guilty to this charge, attempting to defeat the ends of justice and resisting arrest.
He said he had drunk only tea before the smash, but the state claims his blood-alcohol level was four times the legal limit, and that the accident took place on a tarred, straight road.
He reportedly declined more than once to undergo a breathalyser test, telling the police he was a judge.
Now while I realise that Motata was not the first, and certainly will not be the last person to drive under the influence and get caught doing so, what I cannot accept is his blatant disregard for the court of law – one in which he himself holds the highest position.
This trial was dragged through two years, with rumours of witness threats, invalid evidence and even outbursts by Motata in the court that were strongly reprimanded by Chief Magistrate Desmond Nair.
The fact that he pleaded not guilty also flies in the face of a position that is intended to stand for honesty, integrity and justice.
Worst of all is the fact that he is “too poor” to pay the R20 000 he finally ended up being fined, a pittance when you consider that the maximum fine could have been R120 000 and the revoking of his driver’s licence.
Motata is claiming that he spent close to a million rand on his defence and that this is why the fine cannot be paid. However, he forgot to mention that he earned a paltry R3.2 million while he stayed at home after his suspension in January 2007. Shame.
Not only has this given new meaning to the term “as sober as a judge”, but it seems sometimes it’s the moral piggybank that is lower than the cash one.
