The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) confirmed on Tuesday that convicted rapists Marinus and Morne Kemp remain free despite a court order revoking their bail, due to an informal arrangement with their defense.

AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit spokesperson Barry Bateman said the NPA further confirmed that a date for the brothers’ bail application has not been set.

Also read: Outrage as convicted Pretoria child rapists remain free

“This raises further questions because prosecutors do not have the discretion to usurp the courts and disregard court orders.

“We have asked the NPA to clarify whether such special treatment is limited to the case of the Kemps, or there are many such cases where appellants who have been convicted of serious offences have not been arrested because of informal arrangements with the authorities.”

Adv. Gerrie Nel, head of the unit, said they are concerned that either these appellants received preferential treatment, or it has become the practice of the NPA office.

“And if there are more such instances, where unsuccessful appellants are granted similar concessions.”

In October 2022, the Pretoria Magistrates Court convicted the Kemp brothers for the 2018 rape of a 14-year-old girl.

The families of the victim and the accused were once close friends, living in the same neighborhood from 2014 to 2018 and frequently spending time together.

The daughters in both families developed a special bond, leading to many visits and sleepovers, fostering a sense of trust and familiarity between them.

At the time of the incident, Morné, one of the accused brothers, was living in a separate flat on the property of Marinus.

The court order revealed the shocking details that the rape took place during a sleepover in the house of Marinus, in a room where his own children were also sleeping.

The court sentenced Morné to 25 years’ imprisonment and Marinus to a 20 year jail term.

They immediately appealed their conviction and have been on bail since then. On October 30, the Pretoria High Court dismissed the appeal and revoked their bail.

The court ordered the brothers to surrender themselves within seven days to the investigating officer or report to the Pretoria North police station to be arrested and start serving their sentence.

Bateman said the unit represents the victim and her mother, who approached the unit after learning that her daughter’s convicted rapists had not been arrested, despite their unsuccessful appeal.

The mother could not obtain clear answers from the authorities and remains concerned because the two men live in her neighbourhood.

He added that the NPA, in their response, says it would be ‘male fide or malicious’ if the state arrested the Kemp brothers pending a decision by a court to grant them bail.

“Our view is unwavering that it is neither male fides nor malicious for the state to act in accordance with the rule of law and to uphold the values of an organisation which is duty-bound to act without fear, favour or prejudice.

“Conversely, the state will act male fides when the interests of convicted criminals are elevated above those of society and their victims who are left with no explanation for why the assailants remain free. It begs the question: in whose interest is the state acting, if not society’s and the victims of crime?

“While your office indicates that it has been in contact with various role-players in this matter, any effort to keep the victim and her family abreast of all these developments is notably absent. As indicated in our previous correspondence, the complainant lives in fear and uncertainty because her attackers remain free. When was she going to be told about the extensive arrangements being made by your office?” Nel asks in the latest letter.

Bateman added that the case of the Kemp brothers follows the recent Human Sciences Research Council study on gender-based violence.

“The research found, among the reasons, GBV crimes were not reported due to a “lack of trust in authorities tasked to respond to GBV”.

“Regrettably, the case of the Kemp brothers provides the public with ample reason to distrust the authorities.”

The victim’s mother has voiced her anger and frustration over the ongoing situation.

“For two years, they’ve been out on bail, free to live as they wish, while we remain trapped like prisoners in our own home. This special treatment is unacceptable—this case needs to be fully investigated, yet I receive no updates at all.

“People like this go out on bail and keep repeating the same crimes. Why are these brothers receiving special privileges? Is it because they’re white? To me, crime has no color. No one showed my daughter any mercy for what happened to her.”

NPA Pretoria regional spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana has not yet commented on the matter.

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