The ACDP is extremely disappointed at the outcome of the sexual assault/rape case against Timothy Omotoso (63) and his two co-accused, Lusanda Sulani (41) and Zikiswa Sitho (33), which resulted in the three being acquitted of all charges.
It is awfully sad that brave women who were hurting and spoke from their hearts – some of them even broke down as they testified – came forward as witnesses but the shoddy work done by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) could not result in a conviction.
It is heartbreaking to see that after so many brave witnesses testified in court Omotoso and his co-accused were acquitted. People, particularly women, are wondering whether it is worth the humiliation of publicly detailing your painful experience, in a lengthy court process, only for the accused to be acquitted due to the NPA’s failure to successfully secure a conviction.
The State must wake up! The NPA has bungled this very sensitive and highly publicised case. Delivering the judgment, Judge Irma Schoeman said that the State’s cross examination was very poor – the prosecution did not cross examine the accused like people who wanted to win the case. The ACDP demands that the NPA apologise to the victims of sexual assault, human trafficking, and the witnesses who suffered and were intimidated during this trial for failing them.
The ACDP calls on the government to improve the justice system and to ensure that all its prosecutors are properly trained. For a prosecutor to lack challenging the evidence, and in the cross examination of the accused, is shocking.
Government must pull up its socks. The rate of crime, especially that of rape, in South Africa is already too high. Witnesses will in future refrain from coming forward because of the State bungling cases. It can only be seen as an utterly humiliating experience to stand before people and the court, give detailed evidence of painful events that occurred, and watch how it was all in vain as the perpetrators walked free.
The ACDP sympathises with the victims, and we hope that they will find the necessary support and counselling to face the future with renewed hope.
