CRL Rights Commission, CGE and SAHRC welcome NPA’s decision to appeal Timothy Omotoso’s acquittal.

The Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (CRL Commission), the Commission for Gender Equality (CGE), and the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) have noted media reports that the National Prosecution Authority (NPA) has decided to appeal Mr. Timothy Omotoso’s acquittal. We welcome this decision. As much as the three Chapter 9 institutions respect court judgments, we were deeply troubled and concerned by Mr. Timothy’s acquittal, as we believe the acquittal was a serious setback towards the eradication of gender-based violence in the country.

This concern was also informed by the “first South African National Gender-Based Violence, 2022: A Baseline Survey on Victimisation and Perpetration,” in the 12-month period in which the study was done, several women indicated their unwillingness to report GBV cases as they have lost trust/faith in the justice system. Whilst welcoming the decision by the NPA, we are hoping it is part of a bigger effort in self-correcting when it comes to the handling of GBV and other sexual offenses cases. Our hope and aspiration are that justice will be served through this appeal.

The decision by NPA to appeal the Omotoso judgment does not affect the joint announcement we made on the 11th of April 2025 that we will be instituting a joint inquiry into how gender-based violence related cases are handled by the criminal justice system.  
We continue to implore the victims and survivors to report their cases of GBV and other related atrocities to the South African Police Services (SAPS) to ensure that perpetrators are brought to book. 

Enquiries: 
Commission for Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Rights
Mr. Mpiyakhe Mkholo (Senior Manager: Communications Unit) 
RSVP: MpiyakheM@crlCommission.org.za/ 065 592 2752

Commission for Gender Equality
Mr. Javu Baloyi (CGE Spokesperson)
RSVP: Javu@cge.org.za / 083579 3306

South African Human Rights Commission
Mr. Wisani Baloyi (Acting Communications Co-ordinator)
RSVP : Wbaloyi@sahrc.org.za/ 081 016 8308

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