The civil rights organisation's spokesperson, Nomfundo Jele, tells OFM News that the accused was arrested on 19 October 2021 and is facing 15 charges of rape and 10 additional charges, including attempted murder and kidnapping. Jele says that they believe sexual predators should not be given the option to apply for bail. According to Jele, there are so many cases where sexual predators like these re-offend while they are out on bail. Jele says that police spokesperson, Adéle Myburgh, confirmed that the accused contacted women for possible work opportunities via Facebook between June and October 2021. He would then arrange for a meeting where he would threaten them with a knife or gun, rob them of their personal belongings, and rape them.

“We're basically just saying that sexual predators should not be allowed to apply for bail and we also spoke about the DNA backlog. So in this case the DNA backlog will only come into play when the court case starts but we have seen that the DNA backlog is just one of the issues that are robbing the victims of GBV of justice. Because due to the backlog, perpetrators get out on bail numerous times and are able to re-offend because they are not able to test the sample of these perpetrators,“  says Jele.

She adds that the backlog of DNA at the police offices is what impacts the bail application directly because if the accused applies for bail before the DNA has been tested the likelihood of re-offense and bail leans towards the perpetrator.

Jele mentions that after various cases were reported in Klipgat, Soshanguve, Loate, and Rietgat, the suspect was arrested on 19 October. She says that Myburgh said that there is a possibility that the accused may be linked to other cases currently under investigation.

Moreover, Myburg tells OFM News that sexual offenders and in essence bail applicants have the jurisdiction to retract their bail application at any point, should they wish to. Myburg adds that the probability of sexual offenders receiving bail is highly unlikely but that it can still happen.

“Today also saw women from Polokwane protesting outside the Seshego Magistrate’s Court. “Women of Polokwane” were marching and protesting against bail for a man accused of raping, killing and burning seven women in and around the area,” adds Jele.

“Sexual predators and killers like these two men are likely to re-offend. We need to protect the women and children of our communities by not letting these perpetrators out on bail once they have been caught.  The current justice system - which allows arrested Schedule 8 offenders to be released on parole without a DNA sample and making victims of violent crime wait for over three years for their day in court due to the DNA backlog  -  is not prioritising the safety and security of South African citizens,” Jele concludes.

OFM News/Lee Simmons