Motata guilty of drunken driving

2009-09-02 12:52

Johannesburg - North Gauteng High Court Judge Nkola Motata was found guilty of drunken driving by the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court on Wednesday.

"I find that you were under the influence of an intoxicating liquor at the time of a crash into a wall," said Magistrate Desmond Nair.

He said audio recordings taken at the scene of the accident brought to mind the saying "if a picture told a thousand words, the audio recordings told ten thousand words".

Acquitted on other charges

Nair said Motata was acquitted of the other charges - of obstructing the ends of justice and an alternative charge for resisting arrest.

He said he could not find that Motata had an "intention" to hinder justice but rather he was more "difficult and quarrelsome" because he was drunk.

In terms of alternative charge of resisting arrest, Nair said he could not find a criminal intent to do this and also that police were inconsistent about who actually read him his rights.

- SAPA