Wholly suspended sentence for Mamelodi man who assaulted woman, insulted and ripped her clothes

AfriForum’s private prosecution unit has secured yet another victory in the fight against gender-based violence (GBV) with the conviction of Mamelodi man, Irvin Thabo Ngobeni who was convicted for the assault on his neighbour, Nthabiseng Sebothoma.

Spokesperson for the prosecution unit, Barry Bateman said the Mamelodi Magistrates Court has sentenced Ngobeni to three months imprisonment with the option of R6,000 wholly suspended for five years.

“Sebothoma approached AfriForum earlier this year because the police failed to properly investigate the case, and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) later declined to prosecute it,” said Bateman.

He said in the early hours of September 23 last year, Sebothoma was woken up by Ngobeni, her neighbour in Moretele View. Ngobeni claimed that someone had thrown his car keys onto the roof of her house, and he wanted access to the property so he could find them.

“When Sebothoma told him to return the next day, he became verbally abusive and threatened to kill her. When she denied him access to the property, he assaulted her by punching and kicking her, as well scratching and ripping her clothes,” said Bateman.

During trial, the court found Sebothoma to be a reliable witness and accepted her version of events which was corroborated by her brother.

After the court proceedings, Sebothoma said she was disappointed at what she perceives as a lenient sentence, but also relieved because all she ever wanted was for justice to be served.

“I’m grateful and glad that at the end of the day, I have got it. Thank you AfriForum. Please don’t stop helping people out there. Our justice system is failing us and we have nowhere else to go. It’s really sad that it’s them that are supposed to be defending us, supposed to be protecting us, but the system is honestly failing us as well as the police system. They are just not doing their jobs right at all. It’s really sad,” she said.

Bateman remarked that although the wholly suspended sentence may be viewed as lenient, the fact that the accused was convicted and sentenced was the most important aspect of the case.

“While we are happy that Nthabiseng has been vindicated, we share her disappointment with what seems to be an inappropriately lenient sentence. In her judgment, the magistrate referred to Mamelodi recording the second highest number of GBV cases in the country, yet the convicted woman-beater is handed a wholly suspended sentence,” he said.

AfriForum prosecutor advocate Phyllis Vorster had argued in court that that Ngobeni should be sent to jail.

“The accused is a bully. He assaulted his neighbour in the privacy of her own yard by kicking her, slapping her with open hands, punching her with fists, hitting her head against the wall and the steel part of the gate and scratching her with his fingernails.

“Despite the lip service paid to the fight against gender-based violence and strengthened legislation to deal with this societal scourge and even a yearly period of action and reflection on gender-based violence, the criminal justice system has failed victims in general and this victim in particular that she had to resort to private prosecution to get justice,” she said.

Advocate Gerrie Nel, head of AfriForum’s private prosecution unit said the case against Ngobeni was yet another example of the criminal justice system’s failure to do more than “lip service” to the scourge of gender-based violence bedevilling South Africa.

“The irrational decision not to prosecute, in spite of representations made by the victim, and taking into account the already low reporting of these crimes is symptomatic of the criminal justice system’s approach to the pandemic of gender-based violence. Like in the Alexi Bizos matter there is no doubt that the NPA failed the victims,” said Nel, a seasoned former State prosecutor.

“This was an uncomplicated case of assault yet seemingly too difficult or too much of an inconvenience for the State to pursue. Yet, it is these types of cases, often overlooked by the police as not being serious enough, where the real fight against gender-based violence needs to be taking place. Perpetrators of such violence need to know that laying a finger on a woman or a child will lead to a conviction.”

AfriForum’s private prosecution unit commended Sebothoma, who was supported by her family, declined to accept an injustice.

“We hope that this success encourages the vulnerable in society to reject the failure of the criminal justice system and to stand for what is right,” the unit added.

“Despite our criticism of the criminal justice system, we must commend the Mamelodi Magistrate’s Court on the efficiency and professionalism with which this matter was handled.”

IOL