The first Courtwrap of 2026 opens with a grim reminder that justice for South Africa’s most vulnerable remains fragile, slow, and uneven. For the women and children behind the case numbers, delays are not procedural inconveniences. They are renewed trauma, prolonged fear, and in some cases a continued risk to life. Action Society enters 2026 resolute in its commitment to stand between victims and a justice system that too often fails them.
Throughout the past year, Action Society has maintained a visible and consistent presence in courtrooms across the country, monitoring cases, supporting families, and applying sustained public pressure where the system falters. This work will not ease in 2026. It will intensify. Our advocacy is focused on structural failures that enable repeat violence, collapsed investigations, and delayed prosecutions.
Without reform, court appearances become rituals of postponement rather than pathways to justice.
In 2026, Action Society will continue to push for localised policing that places experienced officers within the communities they serve, strengthening response times, intelligence, and accountability. We will escalate pressure to eliminate DNA backlogs, which continue to cripple sexual offence prosecutions and allow perpetrators to remain at large. We will demand the prioritisation of domestic violence cases, ensuring that early warning signs are acted on before they escalate to murder. Our work will remain firmly centred on strengthening investigative capacity in crimes against children, where delays, poor evidence handling, and weak case-building have devastating consequences. We will also continue to call for the publication of a comprehensive sexual offenders register, accessible and transparent, to protect communities and prevent repeat offending.
The cases that follow are not isolated tragedies. They are symptoms of systemic failure. Action Society will continue to show up, to document, to challenge, and to hold institutions accountable until justice is not the exception, but the standard.
MITCHELL’S PLAIN REGIONAL COURT
Angela Koopman: Burned alive
Last appearance: 1 December 2025
Next appearance: 15 January 2026 and 9 February 2026
Angela Koopman’s tragic death shocked her community after her boyfriend allegedly set her alight on 22 March 2024, leaving her with fatal burn wounds. The matter was heard on 1 December 2025 and postponed to 15 January 2026 to discuss Facebook messages that was received by the victims from the prison. The next trial date is 9 February 2026.
Churchgoers Sexual Assault Case
Last appearance: 4 December 2025
Next appearance: 20 January 2026
Nineteen women were robbed and sexually assaulted inside a church in Site C Khayelitsha on Easter Sunday 2023. Two armed men entered during a power outage, robbed congregants and then forced women to undress and perform sexual acts at gunpoint. The trial remains ongoing as yet another postponement occurred on 4 December. The case will continue 20 January 2026.
Thimna Kuze: Raped and murdered at 13-years-old
Last appearance: 27 November 2025
Next appearance: 2 February 2026
On the night of 25 March 2023, Thimna stayed over at a friend’s house. By the next day, she was found dead in a shack, with blood in her nose, mouth, and groin. The evidence points to a brutal rape and murder that cut short her young life. On 27 November 2025 the case was postponed to 2 February 2026 for trial to continue.
CAPE TOWN REGIONAL COURT
Candice Robertson – murder disguised as suicide
Last appearance: 3 December 2025
Next appearance: 27 January 2026
Candice died on 30 April 2022. Her partner claimed she had taken her own life, but forensic inconsistencies led to his arrest for murder. The case has suffered lengthy delays because the defence has not submitted required reports. On 3 December 2025 the case was postponed to 27 January 2026.
JOHANNESBURG REGIONAL COURT
Viral child abuse case back in court
Last appearance: 11 December 2025
Next appearance: 28 January 2026
The three suspects aged between 28 and 36 – including the child’s biological mother and two adult males, accused of child abuse was back in court in November. The three appeared in a now viral and disturbing video circulating online, showing a young child being handed what appears to be Mandrax and encouraged to smoke it while adults laugh and watch to see if he stumbles around. The case was postponed to 28 Juanuary 2026 on 11 December 2025 for the completion of the docket.
