A Pretoria man, Jaco Swart, received a three-year suspended sentence as well as a R27 000 fine after he was found guilty of assaulting his estranged wife, Nicoleen.

The sentence was handed down by the Pretoria North regional court and Nicoleen was supported by AfriForum’s private prosecution unit, led by advocate Gerrie Nel.

During the proceedings, Swart pleaded guilty to two charges after an unwinnable case which included CCTV of him punching and kicking his wife in 2018.

According to a press release by AfriForum, some of the assaults took place in front of the couple’s two young children.

“The matter was initially struck off the roll and that was when Nicoleen and her family approached us for help,” it said.

“Advocate Gerrie Nel and his team, in terms of a watching brief from Swart, made representations to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and indicated that they were prepared to institute private prosecution.

#JacoSwart The footage the court did not get to see. For this gender-based violence, Jaco Swart was given a R20k fine and a suspended prison sentence. pic.twitter.com/VXNRmOrTVF

— Barry Bateman (@barrybateman) June 7, 2022

“Thereafter, the DPP instructed in May 2021 that the accused must be summarily prosecuted.”

They added that the NPA prosecutor applied to have surveillance footage admitted for aggravation of sentence, but the court disallowed this after the defence questioned its authenticity.

“AfriForum’s private prosecution unit had hoped more was done to ensure the footage was admitted to the record, to allow the magistrate to view first-hand Swart’s violent conduct directed at his wife,” said AfriForum.

Nicoleen was satisfied with the outcome.

“While I’m disappointed at the sentence imposed by the court, I am pleased with the guilty verdict.

“It sends a strong message to women that they must speak out against gender-based violence, and there is always an ear willing to listen,” she said.

Nel applauded Nicoleen’s bravery in coming forward with her story.

“We are confronted by the lip service paid to the fight against gender-based violence by all in the criminal justice system, as well as a lack of commitment and competence to take proper care of the victims of GBV.

“However, we want to applaud Nicoleen Swart who decided not to remain a victim but to speak out,” he said.