Capen Town - A woman was surprised when her domestic worker laid an assault charge against her ex-boyfriend, the Cape Town Magistrate's Court heard on Friday.
Mariechin Pienaar, 38, testified that she heard Andre van Deventer and Gloria Kente fighting outside the bedroom of her Tableview home last June, but never saw Kente being assaulted.
“They stood face-to-face in the corridor and screamed at each other. Andre swore and called her the K-word 1/8kaffir 3/8,” she testified in Afrikaans.
She said Kente, 50, shouted back at Van Deventer.
“I remember Gloria screamed back and said 'how can you speak with me like that' and 'how can you call me a K because you have two kids with a black woman'.”
She said she went into the corridor and wedged herself between the two, telling them to go to their rooms because she was scared the noise would disturb the neighbours.
Pienaar said she did not see her ex-boyfriend spit at Kente, verbally threaten her or lay a hand on her. Kente went to her bedroom to cry and was heartbroken at what had happened.
“She said she would not tolerate being spoken to like that again. She was not going to leave it. I told her that whatever she decided to do, I would speak the truth.”
Kente opened crimen injuria and assault cases against Van Deventer and took out a restraining order to prevent him from calling her names or entering her room.
Kente previously testified about how Van Deventer allegedly assaulted and swore at her. She alleged he grabbed her by her pyjamas, verbally assaulted her and spat in her face.
Van Deventer admitted to racially insulting her but denied the assault.
Pienaar admitted to prosecutor Andy Hess that her former lover was critical, had high standards and could become aggressive and angry when drinking alcohol.
She described Kente as a strong woman with her own opinions who was protective of her and offered relationship advice.
The court heard that Kente went to the police in 2008 after intervening in a fight between Pienaar and Van Deventer.
Van Deventer mentioned this to Hess in his testimony on Friday, saying he had paid an R150 admission of guilt fine for crimen injuria.
Hess put it to him that the 2008 case was an assault case.
Further details were not mentioned in court.
The trial was postponed until November 13 for closing arguments.
Sapa