Compromising pics of Maqubela in court
2013-03-20 21:02
Johannesburg - Two "compromising" photographs
of acting judge Patrick Maqubela were handed to the Western Cape High Court on
Wednesday.
The photographs were handed to the court orderly
face-down, and were passed face-down to the judge.
The media was not allowed to see the photographs and the
judge ordered that they be sealed and kept in a safe place.
"These photographs are indeed compromising, and no
one may have access to them without my permission or permission from another
judge in my absence," said Judge John Murphy.
Maqubela's wife Thandi is charged with his murder.
She and co-accused Vela Mabena, her business partner,
have pleaded not guilty to the murder charge.
Thandi Maqubela has also pleaded not guilty to additional
charges of forgery and fraud.
Prosecutors Bonnie Currie-Gamwo and Pedro van Wyk allege
that she forged her husband's signature on his will, and then fraudulently
presented the forged will at the Johannesburg office of the Master of the high court.
Broeksman handed the photographs to Maqubela on the
witness stand and asked: "Do you recognise these compromising
photographs?"
She said she did and explained that her husband had shown
them to her, and said they had been sent to him by a police officer.
She said she regarded the photographs as blackmail.
A police officer had had a "corrupt
relationship" with her husband, and he had often demanded money from her
husband.
She said there were more photographs in her possession,
"even more compromising then these".
The trial continues on Monday.
- SAPA
