Gender Justice | The Bothma Case

This was a tragic case. Either an elderly man was being falsely accused of sexual abuse decades back, or a woman whose life had been ruined as a schoolgirl was being denied some form of justice or compensation year later when she summoned up the courage to bring proceedings. The High Court had ruled that in the absence of evidence and witnesses after this long period of time, the man being subjected to a private prosecution simply could not get a fair trial. Writing for the Court, Justice Sachs held differently.  He pointed out that all over the world courts were hearing civil and criminal cases decades after the alleged abuse of children. A common theme was that the delay in bringing the charges had been directly related to the sense of fear, disempowerment and inferiority created by the abuse. The private prosecution should be allowed to proceed, and it would be up to the trial court to decide whether or not the effects of the long delay made it impossible for the proceedings to be fair.