Abrie Raaths. (Photo: Facebook / Justice for Raaths)
A father who was found guilty of the rape of his young daughter at the time experienced another setback in his years-long legal battle after the Constitutional Court on Tuesday rejected his leave to appeal and to submit further evidence.
According to the court ruling, the court granted Abrie Raaths’ application for condonation, but his application for leave to appeal was refused because, according to the court, there are “no reasonable prospects of success”.
“Under the circumstances, it is not necessary for the Constitutional Court to consider the intervention application in this case. The court has decided to reject the leave to submit further evidence,” reads the latest ruling.
Raaths was found guilty of the rape of his daughter, Megan now (22), more than a decade ago and sentenced to life imprisonment. He has tried several times to overturn his conviction and sentence, with the support of his daughter.
Rhewal used to report that Megan has been arguing since 2012 that social workers from the CMR-Noord, among whom Wilna Standerand her own mother at the time “brainwashed” and “coached” her to say that Abrie had raped her after an explicit sketch was found in her school bag.
These allegations caused great damage to the CMR-Noord as well as Stander’s reputation and career, especially over the past year, although no applications and allegations succeeded or stood up in a court.
Willie Spies, Stander’s legal representative, says the latest court ruling is a “very important decision by the Constitutional Court”.
“Mr. Raaths and his support group conducted a smear campaign against the CMR‑Noord, a community organization of the NG Church that has existed for more than 85 years and forms the backbone of South Africa’s social work infrastructure. In the process, our client Wilna Stander, a social worker with 30 years of experience in the field, also suffered damage,” said Spies.
“We welcome the verdict of the Constitutional Court, which should bring an end to this campaign.”
