Justice delayed: Victoria Badzhi, who lives in Thohoyandou, in the Vhembe area of Limpopo, has twice been raped in her own home and, four years later, is still waiting for legal conclusion.
Victoria Badzhi, who was raped in her home after two men young enough to be her sons attacked her, has faced death threats and lives in fear of her life as she fights for justice.
Badzhi, 55, said this week that she is afraid her rapists, now aged 22, or other violent men will attack her again because the police and justice system have failed her.
The first rape took place in 2020 and the second in 2022 in rural Limpopo. It is South Africa’s smallest province but has the highest per capita rate of calls for help, according to the Tears Foundation.
“I’m struggling to survive. I have nowhere else to go. I’m a woman staying alone. I don’t feel safe. I don’t know what they are planning. Is someone else planning to come again?” said Badzhi.
The men are also facing charges of intimidation. The first, who is now in custody, chased Badzhi down the street threatening to kill her.
“He came to my house four times asking me, ‘Why did you let me get arrested? You know I have grade 12 and my life will stop now because of you.’
“He also went to my mother before she died and said, ‘Why can’t we sit and talk about this? Because my time is wasted now because of that case.’”
He also offered Badzhi blood money if she would withdraw the charge.
“The police are failing me because, since 2020, I am just going up and down, but nothing is happening. There’s no progress in both cases. The cases are always remanded. Sometimes I’m not informed that there’s a court [appearance],” she said.
Badzhi said police collected fingerprints and DNA from the scene of the first rape and that suspect has been arrested on charges of rape and intimidation. But the fingerprints police collected eight days after the second rape have not been checked against the department of home affairs’ database to identify the man, who remains at large. The DNA evidence took three years to process.
This is the crux of a complaint that Fiona Nicholson — who runs the nonprofit PracSol and is the founder of the Thohoyandou Victim Empowerment Programme, which over the past 20 years has helped more than 10 000 sexual assault and rape victims in Limpopo — has filed with the Thohoyandou police commander, the Independent Police Investigating Directorate (Ipid), the department of women, youth and people with disabilities, the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) and the presidency over the past two years.
Nicholson alleged that police are not checking the fingerprints of suspects in the more than 40 000 rape cases reported annually against the database of the home affairs department. This is because the databases are not electronically connected to allow for automated inquiries.
“The Criminal Law (Forensic Procedures) Amendment Act 6 of 2010 provides for the matching of fingerprints to any database in the country, with specific reference to the department of home affairs. But, 14 years later, that ruling has still not been implemented,” Nicholson said.
“The SAPS [South African Police Service] continue to match fingerprints only to their own database, which is limited to prints of known criminals or suspects from previous investigations. If a rapist is a first offender, they have no chance of identifying him or her.
“The home affairs database, to which the banks have been linked for decades, have the prints of everyone legally in the country.”
“SAPS rely almost entirely on DNA evidence, for which there is a very lengthy delay, causing the victim to live in fear of reprisals or reoccurrence for years.
“If linked to the home affairs database, and if fingerprints were routinely sought at the scene of the crime, the perpetrator could be identified and arrested within a few days.”
Nicholson said an email from a senior officer, which the Mail & Guardian has seen, acknowledges that the police do not have automated access to the home affairs database. A member of the SAPS Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit also wrote to her, saying that the police only check the home affairs database in “high-profile” cases.
“So Badzhi is a rural ‘nobody’ who doesn’t warrant home affairs comparison,” Nicholson said.
She added that as the case drags on, Badzhi lives in fear — and with the twisted social stigma of rape that blames the victim.
Nicholson said none of the departments have responded to her complaint, apart from the senior police officer and the human rights commission, which dismissed it.
Limpopo police spokesperson Brigadier Hlulani Mashaba told the M&G this week that the police do access the home affairs database.
“Members of SAPS from the division, detective and forensic carry out the function without any hindrance, the allegations levelled against the police are unfounded and devoid of truth. The police are obligated to investigate crime or detect crime, therefore the assertion that the police are hesitant to search against other databases as more suspects will likely be identified is incorrect.”
He said there was no reason to search for fingerprints for the first suspect in Badzhi’s case because he has a criminal record for assault.
“He also has two pending cases, awaiting trial for rape, as well as a case of intimidation. He is currently in custody and will appear before Thohoyandou regional court on 2 September.”
Mashaba said the second suspect was facing a case of intimidation and police had warned him and taken DNA evidence.
He said Limpopo — especially Thohoyandou, Mankweng and Seshego — had recently recorded a rise in cases of gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) mostly occurring “in the comfort of homes”.
“We are paying particular attention to our investigation capability to enhance our detection rate and in turn the conviction rate by our courts.
“It is disappointing that despite all concerted efforts, rape and sexual assault keep popping their ugly head,” Mashaba said. “We have increased the personnel within the family violence, child protection and sexual offences unit, including revamping our victim friendly rooms.”
According to the latest police crime statistics, during 2022-23, 42 780 counts of rape were reported nationally, an increase of 2.5% from the previous year, while 7 483 counts of sexual assault were recorded.
The National Prosecuting Authority finalised 10% (about 4 600) of these rape and sexual offenses cases in 2023, said Gareth Newham, the head of justice and violence prevention at the Institute for Security Studies. “But it’s not as simple as that because rape cases take a period of time to finalise.”
He agreed with Nicholson that the possible legal reasons for not checking the home affairs database to speed up the process must be investigated.
He said she was “absolutely right” that the police have not managed to gain automatic access to the national database of fingerprints held by home affairs, “which would make identifying suspects far easier and quicker”.
Newham said it is estimated that just one in nine cases of sexual assault and rape are reported to the police. “The actual extent is much higher than what the police are actually dealing with. And reports show that as low as 4% of actual cases ever end up in court.”
Ipid referred the M&G’s request for comment to the Civilian Secretariat for Police Services (CSP).
The department of women spokesperson, Cassius Selala, said the cases “fall under the jurisdiction of the SAPS”.
“The department does not interfere with the criminal justice system but does support the pursuit of justice … The department is confident that the issues brought up by the complainant are being handled by the justice system,” Selala said.
He said the National Council on GBVF “will be able to deal with such concerns and hold institutions accountable”.
The presidency, the human rights commission and the CSP had not responded to questions by the time of publication.