Justice minister wants answers on Omotoso’s acquittal

Schoeman said the initial poor handling of the case by one of the first prosecutors in the case, Adv Nceba Ntelwa, and the slow response by the NPA in having him replaced, had played a role.

Kubayi said: “Watching a woman (one of the witnesses, Cheryl Zondi) cry after the verdict was heartbreaking.”

She said the judgment was concerning her because many of the victims of gender-based-violence take real effort to go and testify in court.

Kubayi said her fear as the minister overseeing the justice portfolio was that the “outcome might discourage many who have been brave enough to stand against the most powerful people to give testimony in court”. 

“We can’t continue to protect perpetrators but more, we need to stand with victims, we must be victim centric in our approach but understand the plight of those who go through this torture.”

In a statement on Thursday, the NPA said Batohi had also asked for a report from the Eastern Cape Director of Public Prosecutions, Barry Madolo, on the judgement. 

“The NDPP [national director of public prosecution] will carefully study the judgment when it is made available to the parties. In the meantime, she has expressed her serious concerns about adverse findings made by the judge against the prosecution team, relating to the manner in which the prosecution was conducted.”

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