The accused's lawyer told the court his client 'suffered hypertension and collapsed'
Judgment in a rape case in the KwaNojoli Magistrate’s Court in Port Shepstone, KwaZulu-Natal, had to be postponed yet again after the accused, Isaac Memese, apparently suffered a hypertension attack and collapsed.
According to the AfriForum private prosecution unit, he requested that the case be adjourned so that he could consult with his lawyer but failed to return because he collapsed. His lawyer broke the news to the court.
Rape suspect accused of causing unreasonable delays
The proceedings began with Memese’s lawyer, Buhle Jikwana, requesting another postponement but the court ruled that Memese had caused unreasonable delays.
This after head of the unit, Advocate Gerrie Nel, successfully brought an application in terms of section 342a of the Criminal Procedure Act to have the court declare that Memese had caused unreasonable delays and that judgment would be delivered.
“We deal daily with the collapse of the criminal justice system. This is how the defence team treats this court. It’s prejudicial to us, it’s prejudicial to the private prosecutor, but it’s also prejudicial to the court, and it’s prejudicial to the administration of justice,” he said.
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Nel said they had presented facts and circumstantial evidence to the court to indicate that the right exercised by Memese is not used for the intended purpose, but was manipulated to cause unreasonable delays.
He said not that he did not have rights, but that he’s abused and manipulated them.
“So, we make a respectful submission that this accused will do anything to avoid judgment. That’s his real reason for not proceeding,” said Nel.
Accused ‘suffered hypertension’
After the court announced that it would proceed with judgment, Jikwana unilaterally terminated his brief.
When the magistrate rejected this because it did not appear to be his client’s instruction, Jikwana requested to consult with Memese before asking for the matter to be dismissed.
An hour later, Jikwana told the court his client “suffered hypertension and collapsed”.
The court then issued a warrant for his arrest but stayed it until the next court appearance.
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Protracted history of case
The prosecution unit, however, lamented that the case has a lengthy and protracted history.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) issued the nolle prosequi certificate on 30 July 2020; the trial began on 13 July 2021, with the accused pleading not guilty and the private prosecutor closed its case on 23 February 2022.
The defence closed its case on 20 April 2023 and the parties presented closing arguments on 12 July 2024, with the judgment set to be delivered on 26 November 2024.
Barry Bateman, spokesperson for the unit, says the ongoing delays have severely prejudiced the victim, Celeste Gouws.
“During her testimony, Celeste told the court that it would be better to die than to be raped. She is a victim of gender-based violence who was failed by the state when it declined to prosecute Memese. She approached AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit to get justice and the unit will not allow an abuse of process to deny her that for any longer,” he said.
The case has now been postponed to 3 March 2026 for judgment.
The unit is privately prosecuting the case for Gouws, who was raped on 2 September 2017, allegedly by Memese.
Judgment was supposed to be handed down a year ago, but has been postponed six times since then.
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