GAUTENG. – Emmah Mailula, a victim of alleged gender-based violence, has filed a complaint of obstruction of justice against two police officers after her assault case was allegedly closed without the necessary investigation being conducted.
Mailula was allegedly assaulted at her home in Mamelodi on 11 April this year and sustained serious facial injuries. She reported the incident to police, but was later informed via SMS that the case had been dismissed by the court and the dossier closed. AfriForum's private prosecution unit supported her when she filed the new complaint at the Mamelodi East police station.
Barry Bateman, spokesperson for AfriForum's private prosecution unit, says the unit enquired with the senior public prosecutor at the Mamelodi Magistrate's Court about the handling of the case. According to the prosecutor, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) did not refuse to prosecute the case but had already requested on 22 April that further investigation be conducted.
AfriForum says the investigating officer was subsequently on a training course for three months, after which another officer allegedly requested that a colonel close the dossier. The dossier was marked as withdrawn and landed in the police station's store.
Bateman says the police did not have the authority to close the case in that manner, since the decision on prosecution rests with the NPA. The complaint against the two officers still has to be investigated.
After filing the complaint, Mailula said she feels the criminal justice system has let her down because she received no feedback on her case. She says she turned to AfriForum because she no longer had confidence in the way police officers handled the case. AfriForum says the unit will liaise with SAPS and the NPA to ensure the matter is properly investigated.
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This article is an automatic English translation of a Nuusflits article originally published in Afrikaans. Read the Afrikaans original.
