'A white advocate would not have the gall': judge slams counsel who asked for time off to run Comrades

Judge Ratha Mokgoatlheng, presiding over the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial, was furious on Thursday when defence advocate Charles Mnisi asked to be excused from court to accommodate his plan to run the Comrades Marathon.

In an e-mail sent to the court's registrar, Mnisi asked for a message to be relayed to the judge about his planned absence. He represents two accused in the trial, which is scheduled to be in session on Monday.

The message read: “Dear colleague. Will you kindly convey my humble request of leave of absence on Monday the ninth June 2025 to the Honourable Judge. The reason for my unavailability on this date is that I will be running the Comrades Marathon on Sunday, the eighth of June 2025, and will be driving back on the following day, being the Monday that I have referred to. I know this may affect the proceedings in the above-mentioned matter, but may I apologise in advance for the inconvenience to be occasioned by this request.”

Mokgoatlheng, who has previously voiced his frustration at the delays in the case, expressed his displeasure that Mnisi intended to skip a court day and that he didn't write to him directly.

“Now, this is what I talk about. Mr Mnisi doesn't think he can write to me directly. He writes to me through my registrar — and he says they must tell me that he's not coming to court on Monday. If Mr Mnisi doesn't want to come to court on Monday, that's his business. I will be in court. And the JP expects me to be in court. I can't tell the JP somebody's going to run the marathon. So the case should stop. Everybody should watch the marathon, I suppose,” he said.

Mokgoatlheng cited examples of other court officials, including judges, who manage to run marathons without allowing their personal commitments to interfere with court proceedings.

“In this case, people are talking justice delayed, justice denied. Ten years, no justice, the case is just dragging on. The family is distraught, the brothers, the relatives, even the accused themselves, they've been in custody for two to three years. And here's this stupid judge called Ratha Mokgoatlheng, you think, who must allow a person who's representing two of the accused [time off] to go and run a marathon?!

“I must go and tell the judge president, when the JP asks me, why were you not sitting, or the deputy judge president, why were you not sitting on Monday? No, I'm waiting for advocate Mnisi to drive back to Joburg, to wherever, because he was running a marathon. This is South Africa, run by blacks. I can tell you now, even if you call me Uncle Tom, I don't think a white advocate can have the gall to ask me that. Never,” he said.

At the start of the proceedings, Mokgoatlheng criticised the conduct and professionalism of some black lawyers. This came in light of ongoing concerns about courtroom decorum, which had to be addressed during Wednesday’s session.

Mokgoatlheng also addressed the use of formal titles in court, highlighting past incidents where counsel refused to follow judicial instructions regarding proper forms of address.

“This is what happens in this court. People telling the judge, you're mad. I was told to go to hell. This judge is mad — counsels telling a judge that, when a judge makes an order in court, even if you don't want to because the judge who is in charge of the proceedings here says you must do so. You've got to obey that. I was told to go jump into the sea, you're mad. That's the conduct we have here. And when I make remarks sometimes about our black counsels, attorneys, maybe even judges, I'm told that I am mad,” he said.

Mokgoatlheng had previously voiced his displeasure when Mnisi wanted another adjournment after the trial recently suffered a two-month delay.

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