Minister fails in transgender woman’s rape ruling appeal
The Minister of Police has failed in a bid to appeal a previous court judgment that it could not plead in a civil case brought against him by a transgender woman who says she was raped while in police custody, reports GroundUp.
The transgender woman alleges she was raped on the night of 5 December 2016 by two of three suspects while detained in police holding cells at the rural Boland town where she lived.
Police had placed her in the cell after having arrested her for riotous behaviour at her parents’ request.
In a civil case against the Minister of Police, filed at the Western Cape High Court in November 2019, the transgender woman states that after her release the next day, she, with the assistance of the ABBA Family Counselling Centre and the Triangle Project, went for a medical exam which confirmed anal penetration.
The transgender woman said she did not pursue criminal charges as she did not trust the police officers in her hometown.
She argued that the police officers at the station where she was held had contravened the SAPS Western Cape Standard Operational Procedure for the Detention of Transgender Prisoners by putting her in a cell with men.
She argued she should have been placed in a cell by herself, and there was an empty cell available.
Following the filing of the civil claim against the Minister of Police, the Ministry’s response was due on 12 February 2020.
According to GroundUp, when no request for an extension for the filing of the plea was received by the court, a Notice of Bar was served on the Police Minister on 17 February 2020.
The Minister of Police only applied for condonation for late filing of the plea on 17 August 2022, after twice seeking postponements of a default judgment sought by the woman’s lawyers.
Following Judge van Heerden’s 27 September 2023 ruling, in which he found that the Minister had not satisfactorily explained why it had taken 26 months to apply for a condonation, the Police Ministry in December 2023 sought leave to appeal the decision.
But on 7 June, Van Heerden denied leave to appeal, ruling there were no prospects that a different court would come to a different decision.
The Minister of Police had a month to approach the SCA but the transgender woman’s legal team said they had not received any such notification.
This would mean she could apply for a default judgment.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
