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Trial of armed forces officer for ‘spreading’ HIV postponed again; legal representative failed to show up

The trial of the accused on a charge of attempted murder after he allegedly infected the victim with HIV while knowing he was infected and withheld and denied this fact, was today postponed in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court to 20 October 2021 in order to determine a new trial date. The trial should have started today, but the legal representative of the accused failed to show up, because he is allegedly unwell. AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit has a watching brief in this case on behalf of the victim and her family. Both the accused and the plaintiff were members of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) when the alleged offence was committed.

“It seems that accused persons are increasingly employing delaying tactics in order to evade prosecution. Because justice delayed is justice denied, the courts need to take a firm stance against such tactics. This is not the first time that this case has been postponed because of the accused and the plaintiff was properly prepared by the prosecutor of the National Prosecuting Authority to testify today. The secondary trauma that she is suffering due to the continued delay of this case since 2016 is inexcusable. Nevertheless, she has remained very brave and we will continue to support her in order to rectify this injustice,” says Natasha Venter, Advisor at the Private Prosecution Unit.

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