S v Matome

The appellant, Vincent Matome, was convicted in the regional court of raping his 14-year-old stepdaughter on three occasions while her mother was away for work. The complainant alleged that the appellant called her late at night, assaulted her, and raped her in her mother’s bedroom. After the third alleged incident, the complainant’s mother died. Several weeks later, the complainant reported the alleged rapes to her aunt, after which a charge was laid and a medical examination conducted. The appellant denied the allegations, contending that they were fabricated at the instigation of the complainant’s aunt due to an ongoing dispute and animosity between them. The regional court convicted the appellant on the complainant’s evidence as a single witness and sentenced him to life imprisonment. His conviction and sentence were confirmed by the Gauteng North High Court, after which he appealed to the Supreme Court of Appeal.

The appeal against conviction was upheld. The appellant’s conviction and sentence were set aside.

The case reaffirms the principles governing the assessment of single-witness testimony in sexual offence cases and underscores the duty of trial courts to consider all evidence in its totality. It highlights that shortcomings in the State’s case and failure to evaluate corroborative or contextual evidence may result in reasonable doubt benefiting the accused.