Vicki Momberg has lost her cornrows

Convicted racist Vicky Momberg appeared in the Randburg Magistrates Court in Johannesburg on Wednesday morning to appeal her three-year jail sentence, which she is currently serving.

This time, the hairstyle that had South Africa buzzing was gone.

The former real estate agent appeared last week in the same court with cornrows ahead of her application for leave to appeal, which was postponed to today for her legal team to finish preparing her paperwork.

Convicted racist Vicky Momberg appears in the Randburg Magistrates Court, Johannesburg on 11 April 2018. Momberg appeared to appeal her sentence. Picture: Yeshiel Panchia

Twitter exploded with mixed reactions last week regarding the choice in hairdo, which is commonly associated with African women. For Caucasians, wearing cornrows is considered cultural appropriation and for someone who was sent to jail over a racist rant towards police officers who were trying to help her, it probably wasn’t a great idea, said attorney Tracey Lomax.

“I would never represent such a client, but if I were called upon to do so I would absolutely not let her go into court with cornrows,” Lomax said.

“It’s cultural appropriation for a start, which is an aspect of racism which is seldom acknowledged.

“Momberg chose to wear a hairstyle which is culturally significant to the people she insulted.”

Vicky Momberg leaves court in cornrows on 4 April 2018. Photo: Amanda Watson

Momberg’s newest fan, Pro-Afrikaans Action Group founder Dan Roodt, who made a surprise appearance at the Randburg Magistrate’s Court last week, however, called it a “smart move”.

“Smart move by #VickiMomberg. She has adopted ‘corn rows’, a black hairstyle. So maybe the Indian magistrate will be more lenient next time,” he posted on Twitter.

ALSO READ: Momberg’s cornrows steal the show in court

“I could just see that there was such a witch-hunt and the sentencing is so extreme, this is what I would call a verbal transgression and this court has sentenced her to what armed robbers, people committing murder with some extenuating circumstances, would get, so I was very curious to see for myself what was going on and because I don’t really trust what I read in the media,” Roodt said.