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

According to Barry Bateman, spokesperson for AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit, the man accused of spiking her drink and raping her appeared briefly in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Thursday, October 15.

Bateman said 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.

According to Bateman, the accused cannot be identified until he has pleaded to the charges. The complainant’s identity is being withheld to protect her privacy

Bateman said the Pretoria mom, a single mother, alleged that her neighbour invited her to his flat in the Moot area for a drink on the evening of April 20, 2025.

She recalled tasting something extremely bitter after being given a glass of wine, before losing all memory of the evening.

According to Bateman, she woke up at Tshwane District Hospital the following morning, bloodied and bruised, with no recollection of what had happened.

He said relatives who went to her flat after being unable to reach her found blood spatter on the floors and walls, along with the neighbour’s gown in her bedroom.

Her clothes were allegedly later found at his home.

Bateman said 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.

Despite the matter being reported in April 2025, police had still not taken statements from the woman or potential witnesses by July that year, according to Bateman.

She subsequently approached AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit for assistance.

Bateman said a criminal case was registered only 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 (FCS) Unit.

He said the provincial office was approached after the FCS unit at Moot police station failed to respond to requests to register a docket and investigate.

In comments shared by the unit, the Pretoria mom expressed relief that the case had finally reached court.

“If I did not ask for help from Advocates Phyllis Vorster and Gerrie Nel, and if we did not press this matter further, I honestly think they would have just lifted the rug and shoved it underneath it,” she said.

“It took a lot of phone calls and a lot of praying and a lot of ‘please, just show up to do your job’, and eventually things started happening.”

She credited the unit with helping her secure a court date.

“I think Gerrie Nel, Phyllis Vorster and AfriForum made it possible for me to get to the point where we actually have a court date.”

Bateman criticised the handling of the case.

“The uphill battle to get this matter properly investigated and eventually enrolled is a testament to the absolute disregard the authorities have for gender-based violence cases,” he said.

The statement supplied by the unit did not include a police response to the allegations about the investigation

The allegations against the accused have yet to be tested in court.

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