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South Africa decisions
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Piyose v S (A72/2021) [2022] ZAGPJHC 570 (16 August 2022)
Appeal against rape convictions and 20-year sentence dismissed. The court held the incomplete record caused no prejudice and the complainant’s evidence was credible.
Jali v S (AR507/2014) [2016] ZAKZPHC 65 (2 June 2016)
Appeal against rape convictions succeeded after the court found serious inconsistencies in the complainant’s evidence and medical record, creating reasonable doubt.
Tofie v S (104/14) [2014] ZASCA 159 (1 October 2014)
The Supreme Court of Appeal overturned rape convictions after finding the complainant's evidence unreliable, contradictory, and unsupported by corroboration.
Bantom v S (CA&R 320/12) [2013] ZAECGHC 19 (4 February 2013)
The High Court dismissed a rape conviction appeal, finding the complainant credible and the appellant’s denial farfetched despite the lack of corroboration.
Van Der Ross v S (A1044/01) [2002] ZAWCHC 30; 2002 (2) SACR 362 (C) (31 May 2002)
The court found that the magistrate failed to apply the necessary double caution to the complainant's evidence, given that she was a single witness in a sexual offence case arising from a domestic relationship with a history of conflict. The absence of medical corroboration, the complainant's delayed reporting, and her normal appearance after the alleged incident created serious doubts about the reliability of her account. The cumulative effect of these factors rendered the conviction unsafe. The appeal was upheld, and both the conviction and sentence were set aside.
Source excerpt
S v Jackson (35/97) [1998] ZASCA 13; 1998 (4) BCLR 424 (SCA) ; [1998] 2 All SA 267 (A) (20 March 1998)
Appeal against an attempted-rape conviction was dismissed. The court rejected the general sexual-offences cautionary rule and upheld the complainant’s evidence and the sentence.
S v Stemmet (114/89) [1989] ZASCA 113; [1990] 1 All SA 360 (A) (22 September 1989)
Appeal against rape conviction and sentence dismissed. The court held that the trial magistrate properly applied caution in assessing the complainant’s evidence and that the sentence was not excessive.
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