Magistrate loses patience with husband’s 15-year history of violating court orders.
A PROTECTION order taken out by an East London man’s estranged wife meant nothing when he saw a strange man in her car. He ordered him out.
Buffalo City Metro employee Mziwethu Booi said in the magistrate’s court yesterday that he told the man: “He can’t climb in my car and drive with my wife. I saw nothing wrong with her having a passenger. I just wanted to know who he is. She can’t have someone in her car while we are married.”
Booi will now stay in jail until next month, charged with contravening a protection order shortly after being convicted of exactly the same thing. Booi, 40, was grilled in the bail court yesterday on a litany of incidents, including convictions for assault and transgressions of protection orders obtained by his wife Ndileka. The couple separated in May 2011, but their marital problems have been evident for 15 years in the courts.
Various charges against Booi have been dropped for lack of evidence, but his most recent behaviour prompted magistrate Nazeem Joemath to deny him bail yesterday, rejecting argument by Booi’s lawyer that “no man can react normally when he sees his wife with another man”.
Joemat said he was not convinced that Booi would not continue his harassment of his wife and ordered him to be held in custody until the next court date, June 10.
Booi has two cases set down for that day, both involving contravention of the protection order. He was convicted of two counts of assault of Ndileka dating back to November 1999.
Later he was convicted of assaulting Ndileka in 2003. A year later he was convicted of assaulting a King William’s Town man who was accused of breaking into a car. In 2011 another case of contravening the protection order was opened. He was convicted of this in March. He also appeared in December last year on a charge of contravening the protection order.
Joemath asked Booi: What is your understanding of an order of court – a protection order – that says you should not do certain things?
Booi: I understand that I must not break these conditions.
Joemath: If you understand the conditions, why do you break ?
Booi: It is not my wish to break the conditions of the protection order.
Joemath: What will the purpose be of giving you an order if you are going to contravene it?
Booi: I think now I do understand ... I must not contravene that order, I must not even touch the complainant. I must walk far away from her.
Joemath: Do you only understand that now?
Booi: No, I understood that but now I can see the clear picture.
Joemath said the perception among members of the public was that people committed offences, came to court and were released on bail.
“People say the system is not working. Well, the system is working if it is applied properly. We can’t have a system where a person repeatedly commits an offence and applies for bail.”
Booi’s counsel said the marital problems were caused by Ndileka taking out personal loans for over R50000 without advising her husband. He said Booi had also opened a domestic violence case against his wife, after she tried to stab and poison him.
Booi obtained a protection order against Ndileka in 2011 and was awarded temporary custody of their two minor children. — rayh@dispatch.co.za
No bail for wife molester
A PROTECTION order taken out by an East London man’s estranged wife meant nothing when he saw a strange man in her car. He ordered him out.
Buffalo City Metro employee Mziwethu Booi said in the magistrate’s court yesterday that he told the man: “He can’t climb in my car and drive with my wife. I saw nothing wrong with her having a passenger. I just wanted to know who he is. She can’t have someone in her car while we are married.”
Booi will now stay in jail until next month, charged with contravening a protection order shortly after being convicted of exactly the same thing. Booi, 40, was grilled in the bail court yesterday on a litany of incidents, including convictions for assault and transgressions of protection orders obtained by his wife Ndileka. The couple separated in May 2011, but their marital problems have been evident for 15 years in the courts.
Various charges against Booi have been dropped for lack of evidence, but his most recent behaviour prompted magistrate Nazeem Joemath to deny him bail yesterday, rejecting argument by Booi’s lawyer that “no man can react normally when he sees his wife with another man”.
Joemat said he was not convinced that Booi would not continue his harassment of his wife and ordered him to be held in custody until the next court date, June 10.
Booi has two cases set down for that day, both involving contravention of the protection order. He was convicted of two counts of assault of Ndileka dating back to November 1999.
Later he was convicted of assaulting Ndileka in 2003. A year later he was convicted of assaulting a King William’s Town man who was accused of breaking into a car. In 2011 another case of contravening the protection order was opened. He was convicted of this in March. He also appeared in December last year on a charge of contravening the protection order.
Joemath asked Booi: What is your understanding of an order of court – a protection order – that says you should not do certain things?
Booi: I understand that I must not break these conditions.
Joemath: If you understand the conditions, why do you break ?
Booi: It is not my wish to break the conditions of the protection order.
Joemath: What will the purpose be of giving you an order if you are going to contravene it?
Booi: I think now I do understand ... I must not contravene that order, I must not even touch the complainant. I must walk far away from her.
Joemath: Do you only understand that now?
Booi: No, I understood that but now I can see the clear picture.
Joemath said the perception among members of the public was that people committed offences, came to court and were released on bail.
“People say the system is not working. Well, the system is working if it is applied properly. We can’t have a system where a person repeatedly commits an offence and applies for bail.”
Booi’s counsel said the marital problems were caused by Ndileka taking out personal loans for over R50000 without advising her husband. He said Booi had also opened a domestic violence case against his wife, after she tried to stab and poison him.
Booi obtained a protection order against Ndileka in 2011 and was awarded temporary custody of their two minor children. — rayh@dispatch.co.za
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