A Pretoria mother who woke up bloodied and bruised in hospital after allegedly being drugged and raped has seen the case reach court more than a year later.

Pretoria Rekord reports the accused appeared briefly in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court today (October 15).

According to the spokesperson for AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit, Barry Bateman, the appearance followed repeated interventions by the unit to get police to investigate.

The matter was postponed to November 5 for disclosure of the docket to the defence.

The accused cannot be identified until he has entered a plea to the charges, while the complainant’s identity is withheld to protect her privacy.

Details of assault

The woman alleged that she was invited for a drink to a flat in the Moot area on the evening of April 20, 2025. She recalled tasting something extremely bitter after being given a glass of wine before losing consciousness.

She woke up at Tshwane District Hospital the following morning with injuries and no recollection of events. Relatives who later visited her home found blood spatter on the floors and walls.

The woman was examined at a private hospital that evening, where samples were collected for a rape kit, and doctors reported the matter to police.

Police delays and intervention

Despite reporting the matter in April 2025, police had still not taken statements from the woman or potential witnesses by July of that year, according to Bateman. She subsequently approached the Private Prosecution Unit for assistance.

Bateman said a criminal case was registered on July 22, 2025, a day after the unit escalated the matter to the provincial head of the police’s Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit.

In comments shared by the unit, the complainant expressed relief that the matter had finally reached court, thanking Advocates Phyllis Vorster and Gerrie Nel for their assistance.

Bateman criticised the handling of the investigation, citing it as an example of systemic failure in handling gender-based violence cases.

Police had not provided a response to the allegations regarding the delays in the investigation at the time of publication. The allegations against the accused have yet to be tested in court.

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