Controversial traditional healer and media personality Gogo Maweni, whose real name is Makgotso Mofokeng, was granted R5, 000 bail by Magistrate Rozelle Khiye on Monday.
Maweni who had spent more than a week behind bars on charges, including alleged assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm (GBH) from an incident dating back to 2019, jumped for joy after the ruling.
Even though the State had not opposed bail her legal counsel, Advocate Riaan Gissing fought hard to convince the court that his client is not a repeat offender and will not evade justice once granted bail.
Although no risk to the public was found, the state charged her with providing false information during her bail application - the case has been postponed to February 11.
“The court has heard that the accused has previous convictions and she was asked more than once but she said she does not have any previous convictions. Furthermore, the court understands that she was accused and convicted on theft and fraud charges. This to me suggest that there is an issue of dishonest on the part of the accused,” Magistrate Khiye stated.
The 39-year-old healer was arrested last week Sunday at around 3pm after she handed herself over to the police.
Advocate Gissing, arguing on behalf of his client indicated that Mofokeng, a mother of four, is an expectant mother.
“As previously stated, my client is a mother of four who is also pregnant and is expecting to give birth to twins. She takes prescription medicine which is not available in prison. She is also a self-employed traditional healer and runs her production company which employs four people. Her business will be severely impacted and could close down due to her continued incarceration. She is someone who travels the continent frequently and does charity work and does a few charity drives ,” he said.
According to police reports, the Gauteng Province Cold Case Investigation Unit conducted an intelligence operation that ultimately led to her apprehension in the Mondeor area. Officers noted Maweni was not only charged in connection with the 2019 assault but also has a separate pending matter from 2017.
Speaking on behalf of other healers, Dr A Dlamini, who travelled all the way from Durban said it was important that other healers show support for their own.
“I am not condoning what she has been accused of. Whether she is guilty or not, that is the matter for the courts to decide. Having worked with and seen her charity work, I thought it important that I show my support for Gogo Maweni,” Dlamini said outside court.