More than 11 years after a drunk Judge Nkola Motata - now retired - ploughed his gold Jaguar through the wall of a house in Joburg north, he may become the first judge in the country to face impeachment.
If he is impeached, the judge will lose his salary and benefits.
The Judicial Conduct Tribunal, which investigated complaints that he should be found guilty of gross misconduct, has found against Judge Motata and recommended to the Judicial Service Commission that the provisions of Section 177 (1) (a) of the constitution be invoked, meaning possible impeachment.
The tribunal found he had acted without integrity when he made racist remarks while under the influence on the scene of the accident in January 2007.
“This tribunal has come to the conclusion that Judge Motata’s conduct at the scene of the accident and the remarks he made were racist and thus impinge on and are prejudicial to the impartiality and dignity of the courts,” the head of the tribunal, KwaZulu-Natal Judge President Achmat Jappie, said in his report.
He wrote: “Our constitution protects South African citizens against racism and guarantees their right to dignity. Our judges are custodians of these rights Racist conduct on the part of a judge strikes at the heart of judicial integrity and impartiality, particularly against the background of South Africa’s apartheid history.
“The question to be asked is if Judge Motata is to retain the office of a judicial officer, would this negatively affect the public confidence in the justice system? If the answer is in the affirmative, as we suggest it is, then we recommend that the provisions of Section 177(1) (a) of the constitution be invoked.”
The tribunal said in its recommendations that the office of a judge was very respectable.
“A judge’s conduct, in and out of court, should not dishonour that high office. Impeccable moral and ethic standing is a crucial hallmark of such a public office A question to be asked is what would be the attitude of an ordinary person, let alone a person of Afrikaner descent, if she/he is to be tried before Judge Motata,” said Judge Jappie.
The tribunal sat in January and heard submissions following complaints levelled against him by AfriForum. The organisation claimed Motata made racist remarks to Richard Baird, the owner of the house into whose wall he had crashed. It was found that Judge Motata was driving under the influence of alcohol at the time. He told Baird at the scene: “No boer is going to undermine me This used to be the white man’s land, but it is not any more.” He was subsequently fined R20000 for driving under the influence.
Judge Motata told the tribunal he did not regard himself as drunk and had only had two glasses of wine to drink before the incident, placing him under the limit. He also denied making racial slurs, saying boer was a neutral word.
Judge Jappie said it was “patent from the trial record that the utterances made by the judge were replete with vulgarity”.
The wheels of justice were grinding especially slowly in the case of the judge, who launched constitutional challenges and other applications in a bid to avoid possible impeachment. A judge can only be removed from office by the president following a two-thirds majority vote by the National Assembly.
Judge Motata has been on pension since last year on full pay and has not been back on the bench since the accident 11 years ago.