Durban magistrate recuses herself

ALLEGATIONS of racial bias have disrupted a key murder trial from the Durban July 2021 civil unrest, pitting the prosecutor against the magistrate and exposing simmering tensions within the justice system.

- TASCHICA PILLAY

At the centre of the controversy is an alleged statement: “What were Indian people supposed to do under the circumstances because this was a situation of panic?”

According to Senior State Prosecutor Advocate Bonginkosi Mbokazi someone had allegedlly overheard Senior Durban Magistrate Betty Rawheath making the remark during the pretrial stage of the case in which Inderan Malcolm Govender is accused of murder and attempted murder. Mbokazi raised the issue in the midst of the trial at the Verulam Regional Court last week, asking Rawheath for a postponement because he intended to apply for the magistrate's recusal.

His remarks prompted the magistrate to step aside, even though no formal application had been made.

Rawheath, 70, has been a judicial officer for more than 40 years and in the criminal justice system for 48 years, said she recused herself from the case due to her judicial term ending this month.