News24 Seemingly agitated by court proceedings, an accused who recently appeared in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court in Cape Town in a case of assault allegedly lashed out at an attorney, who had no connection to his case, slapping her in the face.
Mari Rencken, 47, was sitting next to the accused box in court two, last Thursday when the incident unfolded. She was waiting to be called for a matter in which she appeared on behalf of the client.
“I had a matter that stood down to do mediation and had to go back to court and tell the prosecutor what happened,” Rencken told News24.
While waiting for her matter to be called, the court was still dealing with the accused who allegedly accosted her. Rencken said that as the magistrate said he would postpone the matter, the accused became visibly upset.
“The guy was just getting agitated because he would not stop talking. The interpreter told him to calm.
When he walked out of the box, I was sitting in front of him, and he just smacked me, and my head hit the wall, and I fell off the chair.
She said:
He walked straight out of the accused box. I wasn’t expecting anything, and with no hesitation he came and smacked me. I don’t know if there was any time to intervene, I don’t know what was happening, but there was no intervention when he walked out of the box and came for me.
“I never expected him to be angry with me because I didn’t have anything to do with his case.”
She said the accused was there for an assault case and he was not given bail, which was why he was on his way down to the holding cells when he allegedly attacked her.
Rencken was assisted by someone in court, who took her to a clinic.
She had a cut to her left eye, which was also swollen. Rencken believed that her glasses had cut her as it broke when she fell to the ground.
Police spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk confirmed that a case of common assault was registered and was being investigated by the Wynberg police station.
Rattled
Rencken said she was rattled after the incident but had to push on and continue going to court for work.
“I’ve been doing this for 21 years. This is the first time that it happened. I am a little bit scared, but this is my bread… so I just have to go and do it,” Rencken said.
Rencken said she used to feel safe when entering the court room, but since the incident she thinks about what may transpire.
