The mother and stepfather face charges of rape and sexual assault. The case has dragged on for eight years, and the trial was finally set to begin on Thursday. The girl is now 14 years old.
“The magistrate failed to appear at the Brits Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, 23 July, due to the ‘unforeseen circumstances’, as described by the prosecutor, of having to attend a wellness seminar event in Rustenburg. Meanwhile, the young girl and all the witnesses were present for the start of the trial that was set down for two days,” said Barry Bateman, spokesperson for AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit.
Bateman said the Private Prosecution Unit stepped in to represent the girl and her foster parents after the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) initially declined to prosecute. The unit ensured that the matter was finally enrolled.
“The case has been beset by delays over the past eight years. On previous occasions, although the complainant was ready to testify, the matter was postponed because either an interpreter or an intermediary was unavailable,” he said.
“On another occasion, the matter was postponed after the magistrate reportedly experienced vehicle trouble and was unable to attend court. None of the parties, including the accused, were informed of the magistrate’s attendance at a ‘wellness seminar’, which prevented the trial from proceeding.”
He said the criminal justice system has “truly collapsed” if the judiciary allows the wellbeing of presiding officers to take precedence over the wellbeing of the most vulnerable members of society.
“This is a shocking indictment of the criminal justice system and a failure to ensure that the best interests of a child remain the paramount consideration. Every time this matter is set down for court, the girl relives her ordeal as she prepares to testify,” Bateman said.
“She has been subjected to years of secondary trauma, while the very system that is supposed to protect her continues to drag its feet, seemingly disinterested in helping her close this traumatic chapter of her life and simply allowing her to be a child.”
The alleged offences took place in Hartbeespoort when the complainant was five years old, and a case docket was opened soon afterwards.
“She is now 14 years old and a vibrant teenager in the care of her foster parents, who approached the Private Prosecution Unit after the NPA declined to prosecute the case. Following the unit’s intervention, the matter was eventually enrolled in July last year and set down to start trial on 16 February this year, but was again postponed to May, then to 23 July, and now to November.”
“The unit will write to the Regional Court President and the Magistrates Commission to formally register its concerns regarding the treatment of a child victim of a heinous crime and the repeated delays in starting the trial,” Bateman said.
