Meyiwa trial: Judge Ratha Mokgoatlheng apologises for race-based remarks
Last week, Judge Ratha Mokgoatlheng drew widespread outrage after he rebuked Advocate Charles Mnisi for asking for leave as he would be running the comrades marathon.
Mnisi had sent a message to the court's registrar that he would be returning from KwaZulu-Natal after running Sunday's Comrades Marathon.
"This is South Africa, run by blacks. I can tell you now, even if you call me an Uncle Tom, I don't think a white advocate would have the gall to ask me that. Never," said Mokgoatlheng.
Lawyers and Parliament's Justice Committee called for him to withdraw his comments and issue a public apology.
On Monday, Mokgoatlheng gave a detailed apology for his conduct.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Eyewitness News
2 days ago
- Eyewitness News
Senzo Meyiwa murder accused shows court where he was allegedly assaulted after his arrest
JOHANNESBURG - An accused in the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial has been asked by the presiding judge to point out the secluded place where he claimed police assaulted him after his arrest. The court conducted an inspection in loco on Friday for Muzi Sibiya to point out where exactly he was allegedly assaulted on two separate occasions - first when he was arrested in May 2020 and again a few days later. Sibiya and his four co-accused were taken to the Vosloorus area in a heavily guarded convoy. Clad in his red robe that he wears on a daily basis to court, Judge Ratha Mokgoatlheng stood at the parking spot of a municipal precinct known as the "gold spot" in Vosloorus. The area is busy with cars driving in and out of the offices to the fire station. With his hand covering his mouth, Mokgoatlheng listened as Sibiya explained what he meant when be testified that he was assaulted by police in a secluded place. Sibiya also recalled that his arrest was during the COVID-19 pandemic and parts of the precinct were quieter as a result.
IOL News
3 days ago
- IOL News
Comrades runner Moira Harding rules out return to Comrades next year following harrowing ordeal
Moira Harding, was found on Mahatma Gandhi (formerly Point) Road in Durban on Monday morning after going missing on Sunday June 8. Image: Comrades Marathon Facebook page While Moira Harding, the Comrades Marathon runner who went missing after completing the 2025 instalment of the Ultimate Human Race last month, is happy to be alive, she confirmed to IOL that she has no plans to return to run the gruelling race again next year. Moira has since returned to Cape Town where she is recovering. Three weeks ago, IOL was the first news outlet to report that the 54-year-old runner had gone missing. At the time, IOL reported that Harding completed the race just before 5pm and had not been seen since. This kicked off a massive search for the 54-year-old Kommetjie runner. Moira Harding completed the race in close to 11 hours. Image: Facebook Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading Hours later, Harding was found near the Point Waterfront area, thanks to the ICE or In Case of Emergency bracelet she had around her wrist. Workers who found her were able to contact Harding's husband and the necessary emergency services attended to her. Garrith Jamieson of ALS Paramedics said paramedics, police, and Metro Police were called to the scene where Harding was found in a critical condition. She was airlifted to a hospital in uMhlanga. In a post on her social media, Harding thanked all those who helped search for her. "I went missing at the end of the Comrades Marathon and was found 15 hours later, unconscious and unresponsive due to severe dehydration and extremely low sodium levels resulting in disorientation and delirium," she explained. Harding said the prayers of those who supported and prayed for her carried her through one of the toughest moments of her life. "A special, heartfelt thanks to the people who found me and alerted the emergency services, to Brigadier Saunders, the police teams and staff at Netcare uMhlanga, I couldn't have wished for better care or more compassionate professionals. You saved my life," Harding said. Harding further shared a special tribute to her husband, children and family who searched high and low for her. Advanced Life Support Paramedics treated Moira Harding on scene before she was airlifted to hospital Image: ALS Paramedics
TimesLIVE
29-06-2025
- TimesLIVE
My toolbox is bigger than yours
I have a sneaking suspicion the missus has a trove of statements at the ready to get me to do things around the house. Don't get me wrong, I am by no means a slouch when it comes to housework. I am the proud owner of a toolbox, a drill, an electric sander, an angle grinder, garden sheers, a trimmer and a lawnmower. If anything, I am the envy of my peers and a prime example of a good husband. However, this was not always the case, and I think I know why. There is nothing more annoying than having a neighbour with a beautiful garden and a garage full of do-it-yourself tools. Trust me, they are the worst. You would think that having a neighbour with a loud stereo system would drive you to the edge, and that might be true, but wait till the missus says: 'What a lovely garden Vusi has, don't you think?' Those words will prompt even the most languid of men into action. And of course, these words are delivered on a beautiful Saturday morning following a week of replying 'Kind regards' to strange requests. I'm sure we have all been rudely awoken by the sound of a top-of-the-line lawnmower roaring to life at 7am on a weekend, the culprit being your DIY-crazed neighbour Vusi tending to his immaculate lawn. Vusi also services his own car and struts around in a Comrades Marathon finisher's T-shirt, has a head full of hair and owns several pairs of jean shorts. An all-round terrible human being. It is the above events that contributed to this writer traversing the isles at Builders Warehouse on the East Rand at 8am on a Saturday, furiously searching for a metal drill bit and screw extractor. The night before I was the recipient of the words 'Can you call that handyman to fix the washing machine?' I swore that day to never let another man enter this house to do what YouTube can guide me through. No screw, pipe or appliance will be spared from the fire and brimstone I will be dishing out. Vusi will rue the day he fired up that lawnmower To date I have fixed door handles, sanded down woods of varying textures, fixed leaking geysers, replaced toilet gaskets, cleared clogged refrigerator drip-pan hoses, painted walls, paved walkways, wired electrical lines, calibrated DStv decoders, assembled trampolines and shoved my fist down clogged plumbing. All in the name of love. I did, however, meet my and YouTube's match with our washing machine. I am convinced the appliance is possessed by some ancient anti-DIY spirit sent my way by that jean short-wearing charlatan named Vusi. I tried everything and even went through all the stages of grief. I denied that there was an issue; I mean why would it just break out the blue? I kicked, banged and shook the bloody thing, to no avail. I prayed to the Lord that there might be a loose fitting somewhere that I would just push in and voilà! But depression soon took hold when I saw that nothing was working and I would have to make the call. But I didn't accept defeat, instead I blamed the soap manufacturer for using too much chlorine and causing the drive mechanism to clog. I was at my wits' end and sheepishly took the easy way out. The new washing machine arrived two days later, and like any self-respecting DIYer would do, I read the instruction manual, hid it, blamed the supplier for sending something without the necessary documents, and then assembled it to the applause of my wife and daughter. Seeing that we are firmly into the colder period of the year, I am slowly building my arsenal for the coming spring and summer months. No screw, pipe or appliance will be spared from the fire and brimstone I will be dishing out. Vusi will rue the day he fired up that lawnmower.
