NPA TO APPEAL OMOTOSO JUDGMENT
13 May 2025
NPA TO APPEAL OMOTOSO JUDGMENT
The NPA’s Director of Public Prosecutions in the Eastern Cape, Mr Barry Madolo has decided to appeal the judgment of the Eastern Cape Division of the High Court in Gqeberha, delivered by Judge Irma Schoeman on 02 April 2025, relating to the case against Timothy Omotoso and two others. This decision follows a thorough consideration of the matter by an NPA internal team of experienced prosecutors, as well as a legal opinion sourced from Senior Counsel. The decision could not be rushed due to the complexity of the matter and the voluminous transcript that needed to be interrogated.
The NPA takes the view that there are reasonable prospects of a successful appeal despite the complexities of the legal process. A convicted person may appeal a conviction on both facts and the law. However, the state can only appeal an acquittal judgment on a question of law (as opposed to facts), in terms of Section 319 of the Criminal Procedure Act (CPA).
The first step in this process is to request for the judge to clarify factual findings. The relevant papers in this regard were filed with the Registrar of the High Court in Gqeberha on Monday, 12 May 2025.
Once a clarification of the factual findings is received from the Judge, the NPA’s legal team will finalise the papers on the reservation of questions of law and file this application with the Registrar of the High Court. Even though Section 319 of the CPA does not prescribe the timeframe for the filing of such papers, we undertake to file the application within a reasonable period to avoid any undue delay.
In addition, the NPA is proceeding with the internal investigation into the conduct of the first team of prosecutors involved in this matter which started in August 2024. Since the judgment, the scope of the investigation has been extended to include both prosecution teams, with a view to identify, if necessary, disciplinary steps to be taken against persons involved. After the court’s judgment, the NPA appointed additional officials to assist with the investigation due to its extended scope. The report from the investigation is expected in June 2025.
While in our appeal we maintain that the judge erred in certain of her findings, the Omotoso judgment has had a tragic impact on the victims involved and seriously dented confidence in the NPA and the justice system to address SGBV matters. Although this judgment has been a setback, it should not detract from the important support that the NPA and its partners provide to victims of SGBV, including in the most complex cases.
Most importantly, it should not discourage victims from coming forward and accessing the services provided. The Thuthuzela Care Centers (TCCs) are world-class multi-agency facilities that provide the most comprehensive support services to victims on their journey to becoming survivors. Thousands of victims are receiving such support from our country’s 66 TCCs, which we plan to expand significantly over the coming years. The NPA achieves a 77% conviction rate for the thousands of cases flowing through the TCCs that are successfully prosecuted.
The NPA has some of the most experienced SGBV prosecutors in the world, who know how to win cases, while also protecting the interests of victims. This was demonstrated most recently by the team of Adv Zelda Swanepoel and Adv Aradhana Heeramun, who together with the SAPS investigation team, successfully prosecuted the case of trafficking in persons for purposes of exploitation and kidnapping relating to the little girl, Joshlin Smith in the Western Cape.
Another case involved the successful prosecution of a former police officer, Thembalethu Gqeku, who has been sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for raping a 17-year-old victim of domestic violence inside the Komga police station in the Eastern Cape.
Moreover, targeted interventions in respect of serial rapists and traffickers have ensured the successful prosecution of several serial rapists, such as S V Prince Themba Shongwe, convicted of 9 rapes and 4 murders of children between 11 and 16 years old in Mpumalanga. The successful prosecution of trafficking matters solidifies the accelerated efforts of the NPA, and the SAPS, which resulted in South Africa being removed from the Trafficking Tier Watchlist in 2024.
SGBV remains an unacceptable scourge in our country. This is a crisis that requires holistic and whole-of-society responses to address. The NPA remains committed to providing victims of these crimes with the support they need, and the prosecutorial expertise required to ensure that perpetrators are held to account.
Enquiries:
Adv Mthunzi Mhaga
NPA National Spokesperson