Norma Gigaba granted R5 000 bail, case postponed to September

The case against Norma Gigaba, the wife of former cabinet minister Malusi Gigaba, has been postponed to 14 September 2020.

Gigaba appeared before the Hatfield Magistrate’s Court on Monday, 3 August 2020 on charges of  with malicious damage to property and crimen injuria after.

She is accused of trashing a luxury vehicle owned by a friend of her husband’s and was arrested on Friday, 31 July 2020.

Gigaba was then released on R5 000 bail on Saturday.

“She is being charged with malicious damage to property and crimen injuria. That is what the prosecutor brought forward. However, during the bail hearing we were told there is a charge of assault but it wasn’t mentioned here this morning”, her lawyer Victor Nkwatshu told media.

Nkwatshu said the matter had been transferred to the regional court the appearance because the amount of damage caused exceeds R100 000. He said they intend challenging her arrest.

“In as far as the civil issues that we’re going to bring to the attention of the high court relates to the lawfulness of her arrest, lawfulness of her detention. Whether all of that was legally justified and was necessary”, he said.

Lawyer: Norma Gigaba is ‘traumatised’

Gigaba’s lawyer further said his client was left rattled after spending her first night in the slammer.

“She is a bit traumatised having spent her first night in jail in her life during winter and the risk of all this (COVID-19) it cannot be pleasant for anyone”, he said.

Gigaba allowed to go home

One of the conditions for her bail was that she could not go home, however the presiding judge has ruled that she can go back to her Pretoria home.

“As you know, with issues relating to gender-based violence, you try as much as possible to separate both parties, not to be under the same roof because things can get out of hand at times. The magistrate has ordered that she may return home because the state prosecutor had no objection..”, Nkwatshu said.

There is still confusion surrounding the Hawks’, who arrested Gigaba.

Sunday Times had cited a source that claimed Malusi Gigaba had been the victim of a possible threat on his life.