The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has directed the South African Police Service (SAPS) to re-open a controversial child pornography case involving University of Cape Town (UCT) law professor Pierre de Vos.
This decision follows sustained advocacy from AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit, which has highlighted a series of investigative failures in the initial handling of the case.
At the heart of the controversy lies De Vos’s X account, which was embroiled in a social media scandal in September 2022.
A post shared on his account featured a video that was alarmingly described as depicting a “Chinese virgin young boy” being sexually abused by an adult male. The gravity of the situation prompted immediate backlash, and De Vos later claimed his account was hacked, asserting that this incident was beyond his control.
The timeline of events reveals a pattern of bureaucratic mismanagement. On September 21, 2022, René van der Vyver, representing AfriForum Youth, lodged a complaint with Humewood police regarding the post.
However, by the end of September, the case appeared muddled, with De Vos subsequently opening his own criminal case claiming he had been a victim of hacking. This led to confusion regarding the original allegations and raised concerns about the thoroughness of the police investigation.
According to Barry Bateman, spokesperson for AfriForum, the police docket reviewed through a Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) application was alarming.
It contained merely two statements: one from the complainant and an unsigned statement from De Vos. AfriForum raised red flags over the inability of investigators to secure critical evidence, including cellphone records, social media data, and testimonies from relevant technical experts.
The renewed inquiry was confirmed by Advocate Indra Goberdan, the NPA’s deputy director of Public Prosecutions in the Eastern Cape.
In a letter dated November 21, she stated that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) had instructed the SAPS to pursue outstanding investigations urgently.
Bateman indicated that this allows the NPA to reassess its previous decision not to prosecute once comprehensive investigations have been conducted.
In ongoing discussions, NPA regional spokesperson Luxolo Tyali corroborated that further scrutiny is vital to ascertain whether the original decision by a lower court is eligible for review.
“The NPA can confirm that it has requested the SAPS to conduct further investigations as further investigations are requested to determine if the decision by a lower court is reviewable.”
This sentiment has also been echoed by AfriForum, which has stressed that the focus of such serious allegations should not be clouded by the status of the accused.
The Star
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