Luyanda Botha, who received a sentence of life imprisonment for the 2019 rape and murder of University of Cape Town (UCT) student Uyinene Mrwetyana, has been ‘fighting tooth and nail’ against attempted rape allegations from 2014 and is expected to apply for a discharge.
In the pending case, Botha is alleged to have attempted to rape a 21-year-old nursing student in June 2014, with the attempted rape case having resumed with testimony in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court on Friday, as reported by News24.
Also read: WATCH: The Uyinene Mrwetyana Foundation gathers outside Parliament
Abongile Ntulo, a former nursing student who attended the same nursing college as the complainant, testified that he saw the victim crying and out of breath.
This was after she had fled from Botha because she believed that he wanted to rape her. The court also heard that she only had a towel around her, while crying and bleeding from her mouth.
In addition, Botha allegedly held the complainant hostage for several hours before she managed to escape, the court heard.
The State closed its case on Friday after the witness completed his testimony, and Kyle Petersen, Botha’s lawyer, informed the court that he intended to submit ‘heads of argument’ and an application for the accused’s discharge.
The discharge would be in terms of the Criminal Procedure Act, alleging that there was ‘no evidence’ to link Botha to the incident.
‘Botha’s lawyer will apply for a Section 174 [discharge] when we return to court on 8 July 2024, and the State will oppose that application as there is a case for the accused to answer to,’ said Eric Ntabazalila, National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) Western Cape spokesperson
Botha, a former post office worker, is serving a life term for Mrwetyana’s murder, which sparked national outrage and led to the #AmINext movement.
Angry protesters marched to Parliament to demand that the government act to end violence against women, as part of the movement.
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Picture: Brenton Geach / Gallo Images
