A North West man will remain in prison after his leave to appeal a life sentence for rape was rejected.
Confidence Pogisho was sentenced by the Mmabatho Regional Court almost a decade ago after he was convicted of raping his former girlfriend.
The offence took place in October 2015 at Tshidilamolomo, where the victim was a 24-year-old woman.
Following his arrest and trial, Pogisho was found guilty in July 2017 by magistrate Tshadi Leshomo.
He was sentenced to life imprisonment three weeks later.
The man, however, appealed both his conviction and sentence to the North West High Court in Mahikeng.
The leave to appeal application was heard in April 2025.
North West man appeals life sentence for rape
In his appeal, Pogisho argued that the trial court was wrong to conclude that the state had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt.
The 36 year old maintained that Leshomo failed to properly consider the state witnesses’ evidence and wrongly treated contradictions in their testimony as minor issues.
According to him, the court wrongly treated inconsistencies in the state’s case as minor discrepancies.
He claimed that the magistrate unjustly dismissed his version of events, stating that his testimony was rejected, without adequate reasoning or comment.
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The applicant also challenged the sentence, saying the regional court ignored circumstances that could justify a lighter punishment, including his age and potential for rehabilitation.
He told the court that he was a father to three young children, all under the age of 10, and that he was the primary financial provider for them and their unemployed mother through income of R2 000 per month generated from a tuckshop he owned.
He further submitted that his family depended heavily on him, highlighting that his father had suffered a stroke, his mother was battling hypertension and related illnesses, and that he was responsible for managing the household livestock as the only male among his siblings.
In addition, he claimed that his relationship with the victim had since been mended, stating that they were on speaking terms.
High court judgment
Judge Johanna Titus found no fault with the manner in which the trial court approached the case, saying that Leshomo had properly applied the legal standard required to establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
The judge held that, when viewed as a whole, the testimony of state witnesses presented by the prosecution was “coherent and consistent”.
“Minor discrepancies were immaterial and did not undermine the overall reliability of the state’s case.
“The improbabilities alleged by the appellant are speculative and are not supported by the record,” she said.
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Titus also dismissed Pogisho’s argument that the victim’s physical injuries were inconsistent with a sexual assault.
“The medico-legal evidence is consistent with the complainant’s account of forceful sexual assault. By contrast, the appellant’s version is a simple bare denial.
“On the facts, his account is so far removed from the general probabilities that it cannot reasonably be true.”
Appeal rejected
Regarding the sentence, Titus found that the trial court had taken all relevant considerations into account and that the life sentence imposed was appropriate in the circumstances.
“Sexual violence against women constitutes a profound violation of their dignity, bodily integrity and security, and it is trite the legislature has, respectfully, rightly ordained that absent compelling circumstances, the prescribed minimum sentences must be imposed.
“In the present matter, the complainant was raped and assaulted in the street by the appellant, her former partner, then abducted by him and held captive in his house, then repeatedly raped during the course of an evening.
“Such conduct reflects a sustained and calculated disregard for the victim’s autonomy and humanity,” the judgment reads.
As a result, the judge dismissed Pogisho’s appeal against his conviction and sentence.
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