Cape Town - The family of 70-year-old Nomaindia Tom say they have been left in the dark following the State’s decision to drop charges against her accused rapist, an SANDF member.
Tom passed away last week, after lodging a rape complaint with SAPS in June last year.
She alleged that she was raped in the Siyahlala informal settlement in Philippi by a member of the army.
The case has brought into sharp focus the DNA backlog at forensic labs, which now exceeds 300 000 cases.
It is estimated that there is an average of four samples per case which would translate into around 1.2 million samples waiting to be analysed.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said Tom was the only witness in the case.
“Charges were withdrawn against the accused last week. DNA analysis was requested but was not yet available due to the backlog.
“The State had to withdraw the charges due to the death of the complainant who is the only witness to the rape offence,” Ntabazalila said.
Tom’s brother Zilindile Kuku was shocked to hear of the development on Thursday.
He said as far as he was concerned, the family was still waiting to hear from the State, with the last update being that DNA evidence was outstanding.
“We were still waiting for DNA evidence. I am surprised to hear about this, I am waiting to hear from the prosecutor who was handling the case,” he said.
SANDF spokesperson Siphiwe Dlamini the accused member was suspended during the legal court process.
“Should the member be found guilty, it is the gravity of the case and sentence (that) determines automatic dismissal or otherwise,” said Dlamini.
SA Human Rights monitor Zona Morton who assisted Tom in ensuring that the process at the police station went smoothly, said she was appalled that the DNA backlog contributed to the withdrawal of the case.
“During the police portfolio committee meeting in February when, in a monitor’s report we brought this to the attention of the chair, Tina Joemat-Pettersson, there was a commitment that this would be solved.
“The attitude of the NPA is an absolute insult to the dignity of women and children in South Africa,” Zona said.
The Parliament’s portfolio committee on police noted that the utilisation of 50% personnel resulting from a rotation due to Covid-19, contributed to the backlog.
DNA for Africa regional director Vanessa Lynch said in Tom’s case, DNA evidence could and should still be processed, so that the crime scene evidence collected from the victim can be entered onto the national DNA database.
“There is always value in processing DNA evidence. If the suspect is a serial rapist for example, it will be identified as such on the database
“The DNA profile may not in this instance have resulted in a conviction, but the DNA profile should nonetheless be loaded onto the database hopefully linking him to either previous or future crimes,” Lynch said.
Cape Times