Witness ‘did not hear slur’

Two witnesses testifying in the state’s case against a woman who allegedly called a maintenance worker a k **** r contradicted each other and the worker in the Port Elizabeth Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.

The accused allegedly verbally abused and shook worker at retirement village

Lillian Khetshengane, 42, and Rosemary Joubert, 72, were testifying against Dianne Horwitz, 59, who has been charged with assault and crimen injuria.

She allegedly verbally abused and shook Mzimkhulu Solomon Mabukane, 51, at the Somerson Retirement Village on October 12 2017.

Mabukane on Monday told the court that Horwitz, who had been visiting her mother, had tasked him with a job that was impossible to do in the bad weather.

He said she had then said, “Can you not use your common sense, stupid k **** r?”

Mabukane said he had gone to report the matter to Somerson manager Pieter Anthony, who was busy on the phone.

He had then told assistant manager Sheila Marshall.

Khetshengane, a security guard at the village, said the incident took place near the guard’s hut at the entrance.

“The accused came to the guard’s room looking for Solomon and I could see that she was angry and I helped her look for him,” she said.

She said Mabukane appeared and Horwitz had called him saying, “Kom, kom, kom [come, come, come].”

“Solomon replied, ‘I’m not your boy’ or ‘you’re not my boss’, and then she grabbed him by his jersey and shouted, ‘Look at me’,” she said.

Khetshengane said she had not heard any racial slurs.

Joubert, a resident at the village, only remembered seeing Horwitz grabbing Mabukane by his jersey and shaking him.

She also gave a different version of where it took place.

“While I was driving in, I saw the accused grabbing and shaking Solomon,” she said.

However, Joubert said she could not recall what was said.

Horwitz’s representative, advocate Charl van Rooyen, told the court Horwitz would deny the assault and racial slur.

The case was postponed to September 27.