The man accused of attacking a 16 year old girl in Paarl on Monday, was out on bail for a previous attempt on her life. The police however failed to add this crucial information along with the protection order the victim already had against her attacker to the docket that was before the court yesterday, compromising the victim’s safety by weakening what should be an open and shut case.
“There is a chilling reality here and that is that if this stalking stabber is let out on bail again, this young woman will surely end up like Siphokazi Booi and Alwaba Sondara. And make no mistake – the officers who failed her, will be culpable in her death. When the Stalking Stabber entered the Paarl Magistrate’s court yesterday, he looked at us with a malicious smile, showing no remorse. He is an unrelenting stalker. He has proven that he will not leave her alone and in fact intends to end her life. If he can’t have her, nobody will,” according to Ian Cameron, Director of Community Safety at Action Society.
While he is in custody at the moment, the police’s neglect should be noted:
- The uniform members failed to include the protection order in the docket. “They cannot say they didn’t receive it. I personally handed it over to them on the scene.”
- The police denied that a knife was used in the attack and only charged the accused with assault, while the charge should be assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm. “I was on the scene even before the police arrived. There is a clear wound where he attempted to stab her in the head, but he was unable to penetrate her skull, leaving her with a clear wound, like you would expect when you are hacked by a blade.”
- Because the protection order wasn’t in the docket, the court couldn’t hear any evidence of the stabber’s history of violence against the girl. “Had it been included, the court would have been aware that the accused was out on bail following a previous attempt on her life. In the previous incident he stabbed her in the lung, causing life threatening injuries that left her in hospital for weeks. Shockingly, he was let out on bail and the victim only had a protection order, which did nothing to protect her as he continued with his criminal harassment on Monday.”
The case was postponed to 28 July and the accused will stay in custody. Family members said they would continue to come to the court in support of the victim, despite several serious threats against them on Wednesday.
