Jaco Swart: An injustice that must be appealed, for the fight against GBV
14 June 2022
On the 7th of June 2022, Jaco Swart was convicted of assault with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm against his estranged wife, Nicoleen. Click here to access the video.
The Pretoria North Regional Court sentenced Swart to a R20 000 fine, as well as a three-year prison sentence, suspended for a period of five years. This sentence is an insult to the millions of South African women who have experienced gender-based violence or live in fear, in our country.
Swart pleaded guilty to the two counts, which was clearly captured in CCTV surveillance footage. In the CCTV footage, there is clear evidence of Swart pushing, punching and kicking his wife at their business premises in 2018. It is further alleged that other abuse against his wife took place in front of the couple’s children.
The NPA’s prosecutor had meekly applied to have the surveillance footage admitted, to assist in the sentencing of the convicted Jaco Swart. Regrettably, the Court disallowed the presentation of the footage after the defence questioned its authenticity.