(Photo: Isabel Venter / Maroela Media).
In the murder trial of Stephan Pretorius, testimony from his minor daughter was heard this week about the day he allegedly set his estranged wife on fire in front of the child.
She was 13 years old when she witnessed the alleged incident.
The court agreed that the court session during which the girl gave evidence, although it was heard in camera with the help of an intermediary, can be attended by the media. The court also ordered that her name may not be published.
In her testimony, the girl told of the moments before her father allegedly set her mother, Charlene, on fire.
According to the girl’s testimony, the family had eaten together at a restaurant earlier that day. She said her father appeared short-tempered and became angry when she joked about his hair in an attempt to lighten the atmosphere.
Stephan Pretorius in the magistrate’s court in Pretoria North (Photo: Anja van der Merwe/Maroela Media)
She further testified that he repeatedly tried to persuade Charlene to continue their conversation privately in a park. It made her feel uncomfortable.
The family then went to Pretorius’ house. The girl said she felt unwell, went to the bathroom after which she lay down on the bed in her former bedroom.
Soon after, she heard her mother scream.
The girl said she ran to a window overlooking the gate and saw her father assaulting her mother. According to her testimony, she saw a lighter in his hand while Charlene tried to get out of her jacket.
“Then I saw the flames,” she testified.
The teenager further testified that she ran outside with a PVC pipe. She apparently heard her father laughing and referring to the promise “till death do us part”.
When she tried to help her mother where she was lying on the ground and shouted that she was burning, Pretorius apparently grabbed her by the collar. She hit him with the pipe, broke free and ran to her aunt’s nearby workplace to get help.
Under cross-examination, the girl said that she and her father never had a close relationship. Although he provided for the family, according to her he was “not the best father”.
Stephen Pretorius. (Photo: Isabel Venter / Maroela Media).
She also testified that she last saw him on the day Charlene burned and that she doesn’t miss him because of what she says he did to her mother.
The court later heard arguments about the police statement taken from the teenager after the incident.
According to testimony, parts of her statement were initially given in Afrikaans, but she was told to continue in English because the statement could not be written in Afrikaans. Although she signed the statement, according to her, it was never read back to her.
The defense indicated that they may be considering an internal hearing to address the alleged inconsistencies between the statement and her oral testimony, despite great agreement between the two versions.
Action Society attended the proceedings and believes that the proceedings have once again highlighted serious problems with language interpretation in South African courts.
Juanita du Preez, spokesperson for the organisation, says poor interpreting places an additional burden on traumatized witnesses and families.
“It was disturbing to see how a 16-year-old girl had to relive the worst day of her life while parts of her testimony had to be repeated because the interpretation was inaccurate or incomplete,” says Du Preez.
“Important nuances were lost in translation and she sometimes had to revisit traumatic moments more than once because communication broke down in court.”
Du Preez also pointed out that load shedding on Wednesday had temporarily disrupted the proceedings.
The case was adjourned until Friday but could not continue due to a medical emergency on the part of the defence.
The trial will now continue later in the year.