JOHANNESBURG - Judgment in the appeal of former estate agent Vicki Momberg has been reserved.
The convicted racist appeared in the South Gauteng High Court on Tuesday where she delivered heads of argument after terminating the services of her legal team at the start of court proceedings.
She told the court she was appealing her conviction and sentence as she had been treated unfairly throughout the trial. She told the court that she believed there had been collusion between the state, state witnesses and the magistrate.
Momberg was found guilty of four counts of crimen injuria on November 3 for calling a black African police officer the k-word 48 times when he came to her aid following a smash-and-grab incident.
She was sentenced in March 2018 to three years in prison, of which one year was suspended, following her racist tirade in 2016.
"None of the witnesses were credible. They manipulated and lied during the evidence. You can see there is collusion. The unfairness travelled through the trial and sentencing," Momberg said.
Convicted racist Vicki Momberg appeared in the South Gauteng High Court on Tuesday
File photo: Lindi Masinga / African News Agency (ANA)"I'm not denying that my actions were not acceptable but I went through a traumatic situation and got false information while trying to get help. There was no control on the situation."
Momberg said that there was a witness who said there hadn't been a smash-and-grab, which showed that their testimonies were inconsistent and false.
Earlier Momberg fired her legal team after they did not make an application to have the media barred from court proceedings. She said that instructing attorney Wesley Rogers had failed to get some records that she had requested.
She said despite the state saying all the records were present she did not believe them. Documents showing that she was treated unfairly were not there, she argued.
She said there were also records showing abuse from the court.
State prosecutor Jackie Drodski said they were not aware of any missing records and that the court had to looks at the facts that were brought forward.
Drodski argued that Momberg was the one who stopped the police officers and started calling the African male officer the k-word. She said she stood by her submissions and said such offences needed to be taken seriously.
Momberg said the state had not proved its case. She said the evidence that was provided during the trial was not authentic which was why she changed legal representatives six times.
Momberg said that her actions were due to the trauma she had experienced and that a doctor, who was her witness, had been questioned unfairly.
Judge Thifhelimbilu Mudau said the smash-and-grab incident Momberg experienced was something many South Africans had also experienced.
"I have been put through a court case that has impaired my dignity," Momberg said.
Momberg said that the state had not proved that the dignity of the officers and emergency operators was violated when she called them the k-word numerous times.