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No bail or hospital for Mama Jackey

PERFECT HEALTH: Mama Jackey insisted on being helped to her appearance in the Protea magistrates' court in Soweto yesterday. She collapsed after being denied bail. Pic. Lucky Nxumalo. © Sowetan.
PERFECT HEALTH: Mama Jackey insisted on being helped to her appearance in the Protea magistrates' court in Soweto yesterday. She collapsed after being denied bail. Pic. Lucky Nxumalo. © Sowetan.

Thembela Khamango

Thembela Khamango

Mama Jackey Maarohanye will spend at least this week in custody.

Her bid to be checked into a hospital, instead of spending another night in jail failed yesterday when she was promptly returned to a police cell after being examined briefly at Chris Hani-Baragwanath Hospital.

Police said Maarohanye, 49, collapsed in the holding cells of the Protea magistrates' court minutes before she was to be taken back to the Kliptown police station.

Maarohanye claimed she was assaulted during her arrest.

In a scene reminiscent of the Schabir Shaik saga, Maarohanye managed to be taken to hospital instead of prison.

After spending more than 80 days in hospital with a heart ailment, Shaik was last week ordered by Correctional Services Minister Ngconde Balfour to be removed from the St Augustines Hospital and sent back to Westville Prison.

Outside court, Maarohanye's attorney Ike Motloung refused to say what was wrong with his client other than to confirm she had been taken to hospital.

Maarohanye appeared in court with Patricia Molaba, 34, who works for the Oprah Winfrey Foundation, on charges of kidnapping and assaulting Sowetan reporter Vusi Ndlovu.

The state requested that the court postpone the case until February 23 as they had not finished collecting statements from witnesses.

Motloung argued that it was not in the interest of justice to keep Maarohanye detained while the state collected evidence. He asked how Maarohanye would tamper with evidence if she was released on bail.

Motloung later told the court that some journalists were out to discredit Maarohanye and qualified this by pointing out that the matter before the court involves a journalist.

He said trouble followed Maarohanye to her house "because the journo came to her, she did not go out looking for [him]".

Magistrate Herman Badenhorst, in response, said that last month in a media interview Maarohanye had accused the police of not doing their job.

He questioned the defence's logic that the media was now siding with the police.

Badenhorst also said according to Kliptown station commissioner Director Dimakatso Ndaba there was an ongoing fight between Maarohanye and the police.

The court ruled that she be remanded in custody and that the case be postponed to February 23 because a similar outstanding matter against her is to be heard on the same day.

The court heard that Maarohanye's co-accused, Patricia Molaba, went to the school during the alleged hijack and assault because her child SMSed her to say: "Mommy there is trouble at school, come and see me." Molaba was released on R2000 bail.

Arrested for public violence on Sunday, 41 Itutheng Development Trust students were released into the custody of their parents. The rest were released on warnings.

l See page 6 and 7

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