Why was Wisani rape charge withdrawn?

Patrick Wisani will no longer be charged with the rape of his girlfriend, who he is alleged to have beaten to death with a sjambok.

|||

Johannesburg - The Sonke Gender Justice Network has expressed disdain that former ANC Youth League leader Patrick Wisani will no longer be charged with the rape of his girlfriend, who he is alleged to have beaten to death.

Wisani was the ANCYL Joburg inner city chairman last September when he allegedly beat 24-year-old Nosipho Mandleleni to death with a sjambok in Yeoville.

Last month it was revealed he had resigned from the party pending his trial’s resolution, despite announcing earlier that he wished to assist with the local government elections.

At a previous court appearance in January, The Star noted that the charge sheet had charged Wisani with Mandleleni’s rape as well as her murder.

But on Tuesday in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court, the charge sheet had been amended to only include the murder charge.

Wisani’s case was also meant to be transferred on Tuesday to the high court for trial, but because his family had not yet paid his new advocate for his services, the case had to be postponed to Friday.

The more than a dozen Sonke Gender Justice Network protesters in the court appeared annoyed that a trial date had not yet been set.

Meanwhile, Jean Claude Kazaku, a peer educator and representative for the organisation, told The Star it was worrying that the rape charge against Wisani had been withdrawn.

“What is happening with the docket? How could he be charged with rape and then have the charge withdrawn?

“It makes no sense... There’s something funny going on here,” said Kazaku.

But the National Prosecuting Authority denied any wrongdoing, with spokeswoman Phindi Louw saying the decision had come after careful consideration of the contents of the criminal docket.

According to Louw, the high court advocate set to take over the case for trial believed there was not a reasonable prospect of success to prosecute Wisani for the rape, which was why they had only stuck with the murder charge.

Earlier this year, The Star was told by sources close to the investigation that the initial rape charge had been borne out of forensic evidence showing that Mandleleni’s genitals were damaged during the attack that killed the young woman.

shain.germaner@inl.co.za

@ShainGermaner

The Star