Controversial sangoma Makgotso "Gogo Maweni" Mofokeng made her first appearance at the Protea Magistrate's Court facing a charge of assault GBH. The famous traditional healer is accused of assaulting a relative of her ex-lover in 2019 and members of the cold case unit only arrested her on Sunday afternoon around 3pm.

SHE CONFIRMS SHE IS PREGNANT WITH TWINS 

In an attempt to bar the media from filming the proceedings, gogo Maweni's defence, Marcia Makuse, told the court that her client is pregnant with twins. At the time, Maweni, who was wearing grey track pants, a grey tank top, and light green slippers with freshly done cornrows, had been rubbing her belly with one hand and gesturing discomfort from standing, before she was instructed to sit down. The sangoma announced in May last year that she was pregnant with twins after going through IVF. "Your worship is the instruction from my client, her husband, and her mother to restrict the media from covering the proceedings. My client has four minor children: 12, 8, 7, and 6 years old. It is my instruction that my client is pregnant with twins, and for this reason, she seeks not to be publicised since this case is speculation and may affect the well-being of her children," Makuse said. However, the state argued that the matter is of public interest and already out there on social media, bearing in mind that she is a public figure, hence the capacity in the court gallery, and access to cover the proceedings was granted.

LIED TO COURT

Proceeding with the matter, Maweni was asked if she had any previous convictions, which she bluntly said she did not have. In a turn of events, the state prosecutor Advocate Tsautse revealed that Maweni has another case of assault GBH from 2017, which left the magistrate Rozelle Khiye unimpressed. "Your worship, the investigating officer has a copy of the bail statement printed of the 2017 case; however, I don't have copies in my possession. The state then requires seven days to obtain the bail statements and profiling before proceeding with bail." Maweni's defence then admitted that she was aware of the previous conviction but stated that the matter was withdrawn with no further instruction. Regarding allegations of five different murder charges also linked to the accused, the police spokesperson Colonel Mavela Masondo said, "It cannot be confirmed if the suspect is linked to other cases, pending further investigation." She will be back in court next week Monday for formal bail application.