Judge facing drunk driving charges is on a R1m holiday
Publish date: 15 November 2007
Issue Number: 1954
Diary: Legalbrief Today
Category: Corruption
The Pretoria High Court Judge, Nkola Motata, on trial for drunk-driving related charges, is enjoying a highly lucrative holiday at taxpayer\'s expense, according to a PoliticsWeb report.
He is drawing a full judge\'s salary while on special leave pending completion of his case, and would have received well over R1m by the time his trial reconvenes in July 2008. Zolile Nqayi, a spokesperson for the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, confirmed that following the incident Transvaal Judge President Bernard Ngoepe recommended that Motata be placed on special leave on full pay pending the finalisation of court proceedings. The Minister had signed off on this request. In terms of the latest published figures (2006) High Court judges earn R687 904 per annum or R57 325 per month. Motata was initially put on special leave from 15 January this year until the end of February 2007, but this was subsequently extended. Motata has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him, and his lawyers have repeatedly succeeded in delaying completion of the trial. Full PoliticsWeb report
