The heroine who exposed a brutal road rage attack — and helped the victim seek justice —has now been targeted by the alleged attacker.
Weeks after posting on social media about the assault she witnessed, author Jo Watson was this week served with a protection order by Candice Adams, the woman who has been charged with the assault.
In it she claims Watson has been “harassing” her by posting about the incident on social media.
Adams was arrested after the February 17 incident, which Watson filmed on her cellphone. The footage shows a woman assaulting another female driver after she had rear-ended her car in rainy conditions.
After the attack, Watson tracked down the shaken victim and showed her the footage, prompting her to open a case with police. Adams was arrested days later. She appeared in the Randburg magistrate's court charged with assault and malicious damage to property.
Adams petitioned the court and on Wednesday evening had a protection order served on Watson, threatening her with arrest should she speak out about her. A hearing will be held next month to determine if the order should be made permanent. At this hearing, Watson will have a chance to give her version of events.
In the order, which the Sunday Times obtained from a legal source, Adams demands that Watson:
- not “threaten, harass or intimidate me”;
- “not publish anything related to this application on any social media platform, both print and digital”;
- “remove all posts pertaining to myself and the incident”; and
- “stop engaging her followers and my colleagues and staff members”.
In the order Adams claims that Watson discussed the incident “in depth, pushing all blame onto myself ... paints a picture that I am 100% at fault and the driver that rear-ended me is completely innocent”.
She claims Watson had posted a video of the incident “without notifying me or receiving my permission”.
She further says Watson “used her contact with a journalist at the Sunday Times to not only publish an article, she arranged for the journalist to arrive at my place of work on a Friday. Frustrated by not finding me, the journalist under Jo’s instruction proceeded to show the video that Jo Watson recorded. As a result of these videos I have been placed on forced leave until further notice.”
My network of colleagues and clients have been affected negatively and on an immense level. It’s damaging and cruel
— Candice Adams
Sunday Times editor Makhudu Sefara denies this, saying the newspaper had initiated contact with Watson following her first social media post about the incident.
“The reporter had never met Watson before this. She went to Adams' workplace to get Adams' side of the story as the company, ALX Africa, does not have a contact number on its website,” he said.
“The Sunday Times is, and always has been, committed to independent, credible journalism. We do not take instruction from the people we report on.”
Adams further claims: “My network of colleagues and clients have been affected negatively and on an immense level. It’s damaging and cruel.”
In her reasons for having the protection order seen as a matter of urgency, Adams stated: “I fear for my safety as I have now become a subject of social media badgering and abuse. The respondent does not know me at all, yet she is tarnishing my reputation and character on a public platform.”
Watson declined to comment on the development, saying she was bound by the protection order and referred the Sunday Times to her lawyer Caleb McKellar.
“Our client wishes to place it on record that she did not provide your offices with a copy of the application [protection order],” he said.
Adams declined to comment.
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