South African judge hits a nerve with race ruling
Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) – A Pretoria judge has come under fire for highlighting the deep-seated racial divisions still prevalent in South Africa.
Gauteng High Court Judge Madlenkosi Motha said he could not properly assess a Black Economic Empowerment case before him because there was no black advocate represented.
Motha took aim at the four white attorneys representing a firm by saying a black advocate would have provided him with insights that the white legal team could not offer.
Advocate Johan Brand labelled the ruling “outrageous”, but Motha criticised Brand’s conduct in his judgment. “This is a perfect display of the deep-seated racial divisions still prevalent in South Africa, despite some gallant efforts to bridge the gap in the past thirty years,” he said. The judge added that "the soul of South Africa is firmly in the courts”.
Solidarity’s Law Network on Monday warned that the ruling could seriously jeopardise the integrity of the legal system. It accused the judge of failing in his role to apply the Constitution in an impartial manner and without prejudice or preference.
Riaan Visser, head of Solidarity's Legal Network, said it is clear that Motha has exceeded the limits of judicial authority in this case, and due to his personal views, ambitions and convictions, he will not hesitate to exceed them again in future.
“Here is a judge with a personal agenda, namely the skin colour of the legal representatives of the litigating parties. It is something that is totally irrelevant to the facts of the case before him,” Visser said.
-0- PANA CU/MA 23April2024
