Controversial former Gauteng housing MEC Dan Mofokeng has appeared in the Lyttelton municipal court on charges of violating a protection order obtained against him by his estranged wife, Jackie Mofokeng.
His wife obtained a protection order in September against the once-powerful politician following numerous incidents of domestic violence. She was admitted to hospital, allegedly because of beatings by her husband.
She is now the deputy chief whip in the Gauteng legislature and a senior member of the Gauteng ANC and the ANC Women’s League.
Dan Mofokeng is accused of beating his wife and daughter, Thato, in a fit of rage at their home in Centurion, despite the protection order against him.
The charge sheet read out in court on Tuesday said that Mofokeng allegedly slapped and assaulted his estranged wife until she fell to the floor. He did the same to their daughter, who is believed to have tried to intervene during the incident in February.
Thato has joined the court action against her father as a complainant.
Tempers flared in court on Tuesday as Dan Mofokeng’s lawyer, Lehlohonolo Adonisi, accused the prosecution of adding further charges against his client without notifying the defence. These charges related to the alleged assault on his daughter, but were not among the initial charges brought against him.
As part of the protection order, Mofokeng was prohibited from intimidating his estranged wife through phone calls, SMSes or e-mails.
He was also ordered to notify her if he needed anything from their Centurion home by calling her at least an hour before he intended to arrive.
The estranged couple avoided eye contact and did not refer to each other by name on Tuesday.
A group of ANC Women’s League members attended the hearing in support of Jackie Mofokeng. They sat in the front row of the gallery .
Outside the court after the proceedings, they sang and pledged to support Jackie Mofokeng throughout the court case.
Dan Mofokeng was accompanied by his girlfriend, whose name is not known, his lawyer and several women whose identities are also not known.
“I am frustrated about the games they are playing because it is not going to make the case go away,” said Jackie Mofokeng.
“(Dan Mofokeng) has changed his legal representation three times and this is prolonging the case.
“I would prefer for this to be resolved as speedily as possible instead of going through many unnecessary postponements.”
Jackie Mofokeng said she would not comment on the merits of the case as it was before the courts. She could only express her frustration at the many postponements.
The defence lawyer advised Dan Mofokeng not to speak to the Pretoria News, but he was clearly itching to say something.
Asked whether he thought he would have a fair trial as his lawyer had suggested otherwise during his appearance in court, Dan Mofokeng said this would happen only if everyone remained impartial.
“I will get a fair trial only if everybody involved here remains impartial and is not influenced by a rented crowd,” he said.
Dan Mofokeng’s legal woes appear to be mounting as he was also arrested by the Hawks in March. He is out on R40 000 bail granted by the Specialised Commercial Crime Court.
He and former Land Bank acting chief executive Phil Mohlahlane, credit consultant Khutso Mosoma and attorney Matome Maponya are accused of embezzling R14 million from the Land Bank’s AgriBEE scheme.
They are expected to plead not guilty to the charges.
The Mofokengs are to be back in court on October 4 as they said they could not be available at the same time in August. - Pretoria News