News
Rapid DNA Is Shaping South Africa’s GBV Cases, Yet Gaps Remain
A new tool is helping prosecutors lock up serial offenders. But frontline organisations warn that technology alone cannot fix a broken system.
South Africa’s fight against gender-based violence is often a story of heartbreak, delay, and families waiting years for justice that sometimes never comes. Yet every now and then, a case emerges that shows what is possible when forensic science works the way it should.
One of those turning points came when serial rapist Sihle Makaula was finally stopped. His victims could not identify him, which is a painfully common pattern in cases involving severe trauma or attacks in the dark. What ultimately brought him down was a strand of DNA connecting him to multiple dockets in the Western Cape. By the time his matter reached court, prosecutors had enough scientific evidence to secure four life terms and an additional 63 years.
The moment was symbolic because it unfolded during the country’s 16 Days of Activism campaign. It reminded South Africans that forensic evidence is not just lab work. It is a route to justice for people who have been left voiceless.
How the NPA is speeding up forensic work
Makaula’s case forms part of a renewed push by the National Prosecuting Authority to fast-track DNA analysis in serious matters. The NPA’s Sexual Offences and Community Affairs Unit launched the DNA Prioritisation Initiative in 2020 to speed up reports for gender-based violence and serial crime cases.
In partnership with the SAPS Forensic Science Laboratory, the initiative aims to get DNA evidence into court without the delays that historically derailed so many prosecutions. Since the rollout began, more than sixty-three thousand DNA reports have been processed and distributed to NPA divisions nationwide.
According to the NPA, these reports have strengthened trial preparation and helped consolidate separate dockets into tighter, more compelling cases. This is especially powerful when victims cannot identify offenders or when a serial perpetrator has crossed multiple provinces.
The results speak for themselves. DNA linked Gilbert Fankomo to a series of rape cases across five dockets, resulting in four life sentences handed down in April 2025. Another case, State vs. Zozi, saw one accused connected to thirty-one matters across the Eastern Cape, North West, Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, and Gauteng. Several convictions and life sentences have already followed.
In the State vs. Lechesa, DNA tied the accused to sixteen separate matters. Ten have been finalised so far, including two life sentences and a series of additional terms.
To build on these successes, the DNA initiative expanded in 2022 to include murder cases, a move the NPA believes will continue improving outcomes in the most serious categories of crime.
Why civil society says the wins feel uneven on the ground
Despite these courtroom victories, civil society organisations working directly with survivors say the national picture remains deeply uneven.
Action Society spokesperson Juanita du Preez describes DNA as one of the most important tools available because it can secure convictions when victims cannot testify or when attackers are unknown. She acknowledges that the initiative has improved outcomes in some cases and helped accelerate arrests. But she warns that these are still isolated successes.
Her biggest concern is the inconsistency.
When DNA is processed quickly, she says, communities are protected, and serial offenders are removed from circulation. When results are delayed, prosecutions weaken, cases collapse, and families carry the burden of uncertainty for years.
The underlying issue, she explains, is the massive backlog and structural failures inside the police forensic system. South Africa entered 2025 with more than one hundred and forty thousand DNA cases outstanding. Many of these involve rape, child abuse, or murder. This backlog represents people waiting for closure while perpetrators walk free.
There are also problems long before DNA ever reaches a lab. Poor evidence handling at police stations, shortages of trained forensic analysts, procurement delays that disrupt chemical supply, and court management failures all combine to create a system where justice is often postponed.
Why faster DNA cannot compensate for weak investigations
Ilitha Labantu spokesperson Siyabulela Monakali shares this concern, noting that the full impact of rapid DNA is not yet being felt by the communities they support. Survivors encounter multiple obstacles in the early stages of investigations, from incomplete statements to inconsistent follow-up.
South Africa’s national conviction rate for GBV cases hovers at around eight percent, a statistic that speaks to cases falling apart long before lab results are even relevant.
Monakali emphasises that while quicker DNA turnarounds can strengthen the later phases of a case, they cannot fix the foundational issues. If evidence is not collected properly, if statements are not taken thoroughly, or if cases are poorly managed in the initial stages, the best forensic tools in the world cannot rescue them.
A powerful tool, but not the whole solution
Both Action Society and Ilitha Labantu agree that rapid DNA technology can play a meaningful role in strengthening prosecutions. But they caution against seeing it as a magic solution.
For the system to truly change, South Africa will need structural reform. This includes better staffing at laboratories, modernised case management, stronger coordination between police and prosecutors, and public-private partnerships that help tackle the backlog.
Rapid DNA is a powerful component within a much larger justice ecosystem. As Monakali puts it, survivors will only experience true justice when every part of the system functions with accountability and urgency.
Follow Joburg ETC on Facebook, Twitter, TikT
For more News in Johannesburg, visit joburgetc.com
Source: IOL
Featured Image: Good Things Guy
