Chapter 6 - First Blood in the High Court
The Johannesburg High Court’s historic wood-paneled walls usually witnessed dry corporate arguments and drawn-out civil disputes. But on the following morning at 10:00 AM, Courtroom 4C was packed with journalists, legal scholars, and spectators who had caught wind of an unprecedented legal earthquake.
I sat in a wheelchair beside Advocate Daniel Khumalo, my broken ribs wrapped tightly beneath a modest black blazer. Lerato was safe, asleep under the care of a trusted family pediatrician and my father’s loyal sister at a secure location.
Across the aisle sat Sibusiso and Nomsa.
They had secured bail at dawn through a corrupt emergency magistrate—a victory they believed proved their invincibility. Nomsa sat with her chin raised, draped in mink, sneering across the aisle at me. Sibusiso sat beside a new team of three Senior Counsel, looking smugly confident.
Judge Maluleke took the bench. He was an elderly man with hooded eyes and a reputation for favoring the politically connected. He cleared his throat and looked down at his notes.
"We are here on an urgent application brought by Sibusiso Mokoena for sole custody and a reciprocal protection order against Naledi Mokoena, née Dlamini," Judge Maluleke said, leaning forward. "Advocate Steyn, proceed for the applicant."
Advocate Steyn, a heavyweight silk, rose smoothly. "M'Lord, my client seeks immediate restoration of his daughter. The respondent, Mrs. Mokoena, suffered an unfortunate domestic accident resulting from acute emotional instability. We have medical affidavits proving she is chemically dependent and poses an imminent threat to the child’s physical well-being. Last night, her father, a rogue former official, used unlawful state force to abduct the child from her lawful home."
Judge Maluleke nodded, turning his eyes toward our table. "Advocate Khumalo, what do you have to say before I grant this interim custody order?"
Daniel Khumalo did not stand up immediately. Instead, he turned his head toward the heavy oak doors at the back of the courtroom.
The doors opened.
Baba walked down the center aisle. He was flanked by three high-ranking officials from the National Prosecuting Authority, each carrying steel lockboxes bearing the red seal of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation.
Judge Maluleke’s eyes narrowed. "Advocate Dlamini. You are not on the roll as counsel of record."
"I am appearing as Amicus Curiae and Senior Special Prosecutor on behalf of the National Director of Public Prosecutions," Baba replied, his voice cutting through the room like a broadsword. "Before M'Lord rules on this urgent custody matter, the State must present Exhibit A: the true cause of my daughter’s injuries."
Steyn jumped up. "Objection! This is a family matter, not a criminal trial!"
"Overruled," Judge Maluleke said unexpectedly, his voice suddenly lacking its previous warmth toward the Mokoenas. His gaze was fixed on the specific file Baba had just placed on the registrar’s desk.
Baba plugged a flash drive into the court’s digital display system. The overhead screens flickered to life.
"These are the CCTV recordings from the internal security cameras of the Mokoena residence, recovered at 2:00 AM today from an offsite encrypted server Nomsa Mokoena believed had been wiped," Baba said.
The entire courtroom fell into dead silence.
On the massive screens, the video was crystal clear. It showed the upper landing of the grand staircase. It showed Sibusiso cornering me, ripping my handbag from my arm, and striking me across the face. Then, as I raised my hands in surrender, it showed him planting both palms into my chest and savagely shoving me backward down the flight of stairs.
Gasps of pure horror echoed through the gallery.
The video continued. It showed me lying broken at the bottom. It showed Nomsa stepping over my bleeding body, dialing her phone, and laughing. The court audio system transmitted her chilling words: *"Come collect your useless daughter."*
Sibusiso turned gray as ashes. Nomsa shrank back into her seat, pulling her mink coat tightly around her shoulders as the journalists' cameras went into a frenzy.
"Furthermore," Baba continued without a shred of mercy, "we submit the forensic toxicological analysis of my daughter’s blood taken upon admission. The 'chemical dependency' medications cited by Advocate Steyn were secretly administered to my daughter’s daily morning tea by Nomsa Mokoena over four months. We have the domestic worker’s signed confession and the pharmacy slips."
Judge Maluleke looked down from the bench at Sibusiso, his face hardened with utter disgust.
"Advocate Steyn," Judge Maluleke said, his voice trembling with controlled rage. "Withdraw your application immediately, or I will refer you to the Bar Council for suborning perjury."
Steyn sat down in silence, staring straight ahead, completely abandoning his clients.
May you like
Judge Maluleke slammed his gavel. "The child, Lerato Mokoena, is placed under the sole, exclusive custody of the mother, Naledi Dlamini. Sibusiso Mokoena is barred from coming within one kilometer of the mother or child under penalty of immediate incarceration. And as for the footage displayed today—Registrar, issue an immediate warrant for the detention of Sibusiso Mokoena on charges of Attempted Murder!"
***
