Sexual offenders beware – harsher sentences await

BOSCHFONTEIN – Dignitaries from national, provincial and local government were taken on a tour of the local Sexual Offences Court and later addressed a tent packed with locals on Friday during the official relaunch of the court.

Dignitaries included the deputy minister of justice, John Jeffery, Adv Praise Kambula, chief director for promotion of the rights of vulnerable groups at the department of justice, chairman of the Mpumalanga House of Traditional Leaders, Kgoshi Mathibela Mokoena, MEC for community safety, security and liaison, Pat Ngomana and Nkomazi mayor, Thulisile Khoza.

Kambula told the crowd that government had to respond to violence in communities and told them no one had the right to hurt anyone else.

“No means no! You don’t need to explain why. I can dress any way I want to. Men are not limited, so why should women be? Women need to be confident and get rid of their attitude of being victims,” said Kambula, to cheers of women in the audience.

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Sexual Offences Courts were reintroduced in 2013, and the Boschfontein Court was established then. It was recently upgraded to a Sexual Offences Court, along with four others in the province.

Kambula said government recognised that rape was a problem and that victims and witnesses were often reluctant to testify.

“The court understands how you feel and that you are often unable to tell what happened. That’s why there are people who assist the victims, prepare them for what will happen in court and what they need to do.”

The court has a private waiting area for victims and witnesses of sexual offences, which aims to put them at ease and is stocked with flyers and booklets to inform them about sexual offences, domestic violence and related matters. This will help avoid the victimisation of people who testify.

There are also intermediary services, in which people assist child victims or people with disabilities and act as a go-between for them and the court, to make the experience less traumatic.

Marius van Heerden, the chief prosecutor of the Nelspruit cluster, spoke about his experience in the area. He has been a prosecutor at the court since 1994 and said that in the past victims in the region were required to travel to Nelspruit Regional Court.

“Sometimes a victim, witness and the suspects had to travel in the same vehicle with the prosecuting officer. This was a huge problem,” said Van Heerden.

The Nkomazi Magistrate’s Court in Tonga was established in 2000, but sexual offences were first tried with regular offences in this court in 2013.

Van Heerden noted that he had worked with some amazingly dedicated prosecutors who would travel over 200 kilometres a day to handle cases, and that the prosecutors were looking forward to continuing to support the court.

Mokoena thanked the department of justice for establishing the court and said that it would bring back the dignity of the community’s mothers and sisters. He also advocated respect for young women and girls and mentioned that a syndicate has been going around the area raping men. He encouraged the community to report any sexual offences to the police.

Jeffery remarked on the heavy sentences that have been imposed on sexual-offence perpetrators in the past months and said the court will continue to do so.

The National Prosecuting Authority imposed 219 life sentences, 127 sentences of 20 to 25 years’ imprisonment, and 568 sentences of 10 to 19 years in jail in the country over the past financial year.

“But the court can only impose harsh sentences if people report the crimes. Prosecutors need good witnesses and evidence to pursue justice and we need to ensure that victims and witnesses feel secure at the courts,” Jeffery said.

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In Tonga children are most affected by sexual offences. Currently there are 51 sexual-offence cases on the roll. There were 47 last year, with 32 convictions and 15 acquittals.

A special plaque was unveiled to mark the relaunch of the court and afterwards community members had a chance to pose questions to the dignitaries.