Pretoria - A former University of Pretoria student is set to receive R6.8-million in damages from the police and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) after she was stabbed 22 times and then raped in her Sinoville, north of Pretoria, townhouse by an attacker who was out on bail at the time.
The now 26-year-old woman is claimed R10,6-million from the authorities, arguing that they had failed to protect the public against a dangerous criminal, by allowing him out on bail.
The woman earlier told the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, that she would never have been raped had the State taken care not to free Samuel Msiza on bail on several unrelated charges.
The authorities at the time also did not bother to ascertain whether he had previous convictions. As it turned out, he had multiple convictions behind his name, including rape.
It was said that the NPA and the police should have ensured that he was kept behind bars, as he was a danger to society.
Both the NPA and the police earlier took responsibility for the attack.
Judge Bill Prinsloo was told that it is a miracle that the woman is still alive today. Msiza only stopped stabbing her when the blade of the knife broke off in her head.
The student was seeing off friends at the gate to her townhouse on the evening October 26, 2011, after a prayer meeting at her house. She left her front door open at the time.
When she returned she had a shower and was preparing for bed, when Msiza suddenly jumped out from behind a cupboard and attacked her.
She was left for dead after she was raped and she only managed to summons help in the early hours of the morning.
Doctors described to the court how she arrived at hospital, blood soaked and with the blade of the knife still stuck in her skull.
Judge Prinsloo on Friday said this was a clearly a case where a substantial amount of damages was due to her following her harrowing ordeal.
Pretoria News