Tuks student scarred for life by horror attack

A student who was awarded R6.8 million in damages after an attack by a man who was out on bail, was stabbed 22 times by her rapist.

Pretoria - Soaked in her blood, with the metal tip of a kitchen knife embedded in her skull, a 22-year-old final-year University of Pretoria student was admitted to the trauma unit of a Pretoria hospital in the early hours of the morning and had to undergo delicate surgery to remove the blade.

These are some of the grim details which emerged during the multi-million rand damages claim of the woman, now 26, against the Minister of Police and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) following an attack on her five years ago.

The woman, who had hosted a Bible study, was attacked as she saw friends out of the complex where she lived. She returned to her unit where the man waited until she had a shower and was going to bed before he attacked.

She was stabbed 22 times - eight of which were potentially fatal, and raped.

Doctors said it was a miracle she survived the attack.

Neighbours came to her aid and took her to hospital.

The Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, has ordered the Minister of Police and the NPA to pay the woman R6.8 million in damages for the pain and suffering she endured at the hands of her attacker, Samuel Msiza.

Both organs of State had accepted liability for the damages the student suffered as a result of the attack on her in 2011.

Msiza is again behind bars, serving a sentence of life imprisonment.

But it was agreed by the parties that he should not have been out at the time of the attack but had been released mistakenly on bail after being arrested in an unrelated case.

At the time of his release, neither the prosecution nor the police had checked whether or not he had any previous convictions.

In fact he had not one but multiple convictions, including the rape of children and necrophilia.

He had been due to stand trial in Mafikeng for murder and the necrophilia charge when the State withdrew charges against him and he was granted bail, pending the other cases against him because the investigating officer had not gone to court to advise the magistrate about the cases.

The prosecutor also did not establish these facts before agreeing to bail.

The court was told that the State had an obligation to ensure that Msiza was imprisoned as he posed a clear threat to society.

The woman suffered knife wounds across her body and head. Judge Bill Prinsloo said the attacker used maximum force on his victim.

The stab wounds in her face left permanent scars across her forehead, nose, lips and cheeks, and the man robbed her of her virginity.

The victim told a psychologist she was worried about whether anyone would want to marry her after the rape. Judge Prinsloo noted that the woman still had nightmares, was questioning her faith and struggled to perform her work as a surveyor.

All the experts agreed that she felt vulnerable and was likely to have a lifelong path to recovery.

“She was the victim of the most horrific attack.

“And this young lady is disfigured for life,” the judge said in conclusion, that the woman deserved a substantial amount in damages.

zelda.venter@inl.co.za

Pretoria News