Johannesburg – The Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court yesterday experienced the ire of Judge Ramarumo Monama who is hearing the Nathaniel Julies matter.
The judge was unimpressed by the late arrival and no show of some advocates and the accused. This was not the first time the late arrivals occurred.
Judge Monama has constantly warned the accused and the advocate about disrespecting the court by arriving late.
He entered the court and saw that accused number one, Cayleen Whiteboy, and her advocate, Solomon Tshivhase, were not in court.
Judge Monama immediately issued a warrant of arrest for the accused and highlighted that it was for immediate execution.
"The abuse is unacceptable. I am trying to be as accommodating as I can. When we agree to a time I would expect everyone to be here for us to start the proceedings," said Judge Monama.
Seconds later an apologetic Tshivhase and Whiteboy entered the courtroom.
As much as Tshivhase tried to explain why he and his client were late, Judge Monama did not give him a chance for this. Eventually, Tshivahase managed to get a few words in to explain why he was late.
“I had to attend to another matter at the Johannesburg High Court and my client is late because she relies on me for transport,” said Tshivahase.
Judge Monama was shocked to hear that the accused was dependent on her advocate for transport, and said that this was against protocol and that Tshivahase was not to provide long-distance or short-distance transport for the accused.
Onke Maseti, the lawyer for accused number three, Voster Netshiongolo, also failed to appear before the court. There was no reason presented to the court why he was absent.
The warrant of arrest issued for Whiteboy was retracted and the matter postponed to Monday.
The Star