Vicki Momberg, the estate agent convicted for her racist rant at a policeman, has told the Randburg Magistrate’s Court on Thursday, that she felt no words could make people accept her apology for her utterances.
“I’m not going to get an apology that’s acceptable to anybody,” she said while testifying during her pre-sentencing proceedings.
In February, Momberg, 48, was caught on camera calling a police officer the K-word while he was assisting her following a smash-and-grab incident in North Riding. Momberg was heard using the K-word 48 times.
“There are no words to explain how I feel from the smash and grab to the incidents after and I realise there have been people affected by it and I’ve tried to apologise and has many rejecting and others accepting my apology,” she said.
“It’s a very humiliating and embarrassing thing that I have done.”
Earlier, defence attorney Michael Mokobi testified in favour of Momberg and told the court that he had known her for around 13 years and they initially met when he was interested in purchasing property in certain areas.
“We were quite close to each other. I know her so well and there were times I could call her a sister. It was no longer just a business relationship,” he said while on the stand.
“I became aware of her charges through the media and when I came to the court regularly.”
Mokobi said he was shocked because he knew her intimately almost as a family friend.
“She cried and we hugged when I saw her in court.”
He said that he had never seen her so emotionally traumatised.
Mokobi said that there was never a time when he felt or seen racist tendencies from Momberg even when they were with other black people.
“We even shared food.”
State prosecutor Yusuf Baba asked Mokobi what commission Momberg would earn from the business they had together.
Mokobi said he did not think that Momberg was “nice” to him because of the commission she was earning.
Mokobi said he did not know about Momberg’s charges from 2005 when she said: “I do not want to be helped by a black person, only an Indian or Coloured”.
“She did indicate that she made some calls and said something’s, but that’s all she said.”
Baba put it to Mokobi that Momberg had told the court that she could not remember making racist utterances.
“I would feel angry if someone used it against me because it’s offensive and reminds me of where we come from as a country,” Mokobi said when Baba asked him how he would’ve felt if someone called him the K word.
Mokobi said he felt a suspended sentence was adequate for Momberg’s actions.
“The Vicki Momberg I know would not have uttered such utterances. I have seen and lived with racists. She has done something wrong and it was unfortunate.”
Baba told Mokobi that Momberg saw him as a “sugar daddy” in order to earn commission from him hence she would not have shown him her “racist side”.
“She saw you as a bank that’s why she was nice to you,” Baba said.
When proceedings began, Momberg’s legal representative Advocate Joe Davidovitz withdrew from the trial and told Magistrate Pravina Raghoonandan that advocate Kevin Lawlor would be taking over the matter.
Court adjourned to Friday.
– African News Agency (ANA)
