MBOMBELA – “Oh, how I love my job! I pray to God that I may keep doing this for years to come. If I ever lose contact with the court, I will surely die.”
Ms Sabeena Mahomed’s arrival at the Nelspruit Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday morning cannot be missed. “Hello Mammie, how are you?” “Sabeena!” “Ah, Miss Mahomed, long time no see.” The smiles, handshakes and hugs follow her as soon as she sets foot in the building.
When she sits down in the district court-room, a content smile accompanies her statement, “I love this place and I love my job. I’ve been doing it for 14 years.”
Sabeena’s career started in Piet Retief. “There was an Indian man in custody for seven months. He was charged with murder and his case just dragged on and on because of the language barrier. Someone came to fetch me and I was taken to court to translate the proceedings.
The man was found innocent on the murder charge and it turned out that the murderer was actually the victim’s mom’s brother. Imagine – seven months in jail for a crime you didn’t commit due to a lack of interpreters!”
Sabeena was referred to a case in Middelburg where a man was accused of dealing with counterfeit cigarettes. “Mr Jacob Kgomo was the principal interpreter and he noticed that I was responsible and reliable.”
The rest has been part of Limpopo and Mpumalanga’s court records for the past 14 years as Sabeena is the only interpreter in these two provinces who speaks Urdu, Aujrati, Hindi and English.
“Today I am part of the furniture in many of the courts in these two provinces. The people of the courts have also been wonderful. They are such an inspiration to me – they keep me alive. Their love and respect towards me is much appreciated.” She is now 64 years old and a diabetic. “I have blood pressure problems, angina, I’ve had five big operations and have been under anaesthesia 14 times and you know what? I love Mondays.”
