NPA bungling fails victim of gender-based violence 

The state’s callous disregard for the rights and justice of victims of gender-based violence was on full display in the Hatfield Magistrates’ Court today, 22 November. For a third time in a row, a state prosecutor failed to produce the required court documents in a domestic violence case, which forced the matter to be provisionally withdrawn.

AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit is on a watching brief for the complainant, Milena Hill, who has accused her ex-boyfriend, Johnny “Rockett” Schuurman of assault. Ample evidence of the alleged offence, some of which was collected and submitted to the state by the unit, has been compiled in the docket. The unit believes there is a strong case for the accused to answer to.

Despite this, repeated bungling at the court and at the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has now resulted in this matter being withdrawn. Today, the prosecutor told the court that an advocate at the DPP’s office was in possession of the docket and a decision from the DPP, but that person could not be reached. The magistrate denied the state’s application for a further postponement.

This development will delay Hill’s quest for justice. “President Cyril Ramaphosa’s pledges to address gender-based violence rang particularly hollow when the NPA was forced to withdraw this assault case,” said the unit’s spokesperson, Barry Bateman.

“The inadequacies and incompetence of prosecutors on display in the courts is a shocking testimony to the lip service we regularly see from senior government officials, including the President. It’s an outrageous indictment on the state of the criminal justice system and further evidence of how the state fails the most vulnerable in society.”

The unit will now consider applying for a nolle prosequi certificate in order to privately prosecute the matter. “It is plain to see that the only way to obtain justice for victims of gender-based violence is for us to privately prosecute such cases. The unwillingness or incompetence of prosecutors continues to fail victims of this national scourge,” said head of the unit, Adv. Gerrie Nel.