The Democratic Alliance (DA) repeats its call to Judge Nkola Motata to resign, first made after his conviction of drunk driving in September. A judge found guilty of an offence cannot sit in judgement of others who are accused of breaking the law. We expect judges to behave impeccably in their personal as well as professional lives.

Not only is the nature of the offence of which Magistrate Desmond Nair found the judge guilty completely incompatible with incumbency of the bench, but so is the intemperate and racist content of remarks alleged to have been made by the judge at the scene and ventilated by Mail & Guardian today (see transcript). The incident continues to bring the bench into disrepute and Judge Motala owes it to the rest of the judiciary and the country to remove himself, even before proceedings contemplated by Afriforum reach the Judicial Service Commission. The Judge is instead pursuing every avenue of appeal.

Mr Richard Baird will be relieved that a re-inspection of his tapes by M&G confirm the finding of Magistrate Nair that there was no basis for allegations of racism against him.

Statement issued by Dene Smuts, MP, Democratic Alliance shadow minister of justice, November 13 2009