Ex-husband released from prison after High Court finds wife's rape accusation was false

A man who was convicted for raping his ex-wife has been released from prison after the North West High Court found that he was falsely accused.

The man only identified as PS was convicted for kidnapping, intimidation, and rape by the Regional Court in Potchefstroom and sentenced to ten years.

At the time of the incident, PS and his ex-wife were married but separated, living in their respective parental homes. He attended a traditional feast at the wife's home after she invited him. Following the event, the wife asked PS to transport some attendees home using her car. She accompanied him on the final drop-off.

While alone in the car, PS attempted to discuss saving their marriage. However, the woman was unwilling to reconcile and indicated that she had moved on with someone else. Court documents indicate that PS reacted negatively, leading to a series of events including intimidation, kidnapping, and rape.

When she was finally released the next day, she went home and reported the incident to her mother. They went to the police station to report the matter; however, the medical examination revealed no visible injuries or gynecological abnormalities. While there was a vaginal discharge, no blood was seen by the nurse.

In court, the magistrate found the victim to be an honest witness with no motive to falsely implicate her husband, impermissibly using the fact that they engaged in sexual intercourse as part of the reasoning.

The magistrate's ruling was made despite evidence from PS's sister, who found a message on the wife's phone where she stated her intention to lay a false charge against her ex-husband. 

The magistrate disregarded the evidence saying that the sister was related to the husband, and she had made it known that she did not like the wife.

PS appealed the conviction, arguing that the trial court failed to correctly apply the cautionary rule to the evidence of a single witness, and that credibility findings were made against the wife.

Judge Ronald Hendricks presided over the appeal and noted inconsistencies between the victim and her mother's testimonies. The victim did not mention blood on her underwear to her mother, yet her mother testified to seeing it. 

The medical examination did not reveal any blood on the underwear. This evidence was ignored by the magistrate who argued that the mother might have made a mistake.

"It does not make her a dishonest witness. It might have been a mistake on her part after learning from her daughter that she was allegedly raped…She impressed the Court as a person whose evidence may and should be believed and the Court believe her version," said the magistrate at the time.

Judge Hendricks also highlighted that the wife claimed to have been bound and gagged multiple times with torn cloth, but failed to mention this significant detail, which impacts the deprivation of her liberty. The medical report (J88) further lacked evidence of physical injuries consistent with being bound by her feet and hands.

Furthermore, the judge found the wife's description of events highly questionable, noting her failure to escape even when opportunities arose. Judge Hendricks concluded that the evidence supports PS's version that the sex was consensual.

"Having regard to the evidence as a whole and considering the probabilities and improbabilities in the evidence tendered, I am of the view that the State did not prove the guilt of the appellant beyond a reasonable doubt.

"The probability that this was indeed a false charge of rape laid against the appellant, considering the message on the complainant’s cellphone, is strengthened by the improbabilities inherent in her evidence and the contradictory evidence of her mother as the first report, which is not borne out by the medical evidence," read the judgment.

The conviction was set aside, and Judge Hendricks ordered the man to be released immediately.

sinenhlanhla.masilela@iol.co.za

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