Tsakani – The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) members picketed outside the Tsakane Magistrate’s Court with placards on September 13 in the fight for justice over a case that commenced in 2018.
Dansile Kgabo said a member of their organisation was raped, assaulted and kidnapped by the accused. The incident apparently happened amid Covid-19 and the police could not conduct further investigation.
“At the time, police could not produce DNA results. The accused was arrested and released on bail but went into hiding as soon as he was released.
“The accused was still not found when the DNA results were produced to the family. Police have been searching for the accused for the past six years,” she said.
She added that the case was moved between investigating officers for quite some time. The case ended up being handled by one of the Springs investigating offers who then managed to find the accused.
“He was found and arrested in August this year. After his first appearance in court, he applied for bail which the court denied. The second time he came to court late, and the matter was further moved to September 13.
“We decided to picket outside the court to make our voices heard. We do not want the accused to be granted bail, we want him to go through trial while in prison,” she added.
Ekurhuleni TAC district coordinator Pamela Mdaka said the reason they support GBV victims is to make victims feel important and heard.
“We are a human rights organisation. When there are cases such as this one, we support the victim(s) because other people do not know where to seek help and support,” she mentioned.
The case has been postponed to September 23.
