The State rejected an accused's guilty plea for the rape of slain teenager Anene Booysen because it would have implied a lesser sentence, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said.
Western Cape NPA spokesman Eric Ntabazalila said they asked Johannes Kana, 21, to plead to Booysen's rape and murder on Monday to limit the issues in dispute at a later stage.
Kana pleaded guilty to the rape but not to the murder.
"In the case of Kana, his guilty plea did not correspond with the evidence available to the State," Ntabazalila said.
"In respect of the rape charge he describes circumstances which only warrant a minimum sentence of 10 years imprisonment and not the circumstances as contained in the docket, which warrants a minimum sentence of life imprisonment."
In Kana's plea, he admitted to leaving a Bredasdorp pub with Booysen and later assaulting her by kicking her and hitting her with his fists. He then raped her.
Ntabazalila said Kana did not say where or how he raped the 17-year-old.
"[I]t is clear from the plea explanation offered in respect of the rape charge that he denies inflicting the extensive genital injuries on the deceased which caused her intestines to protrude from her genital area and ultimately, caused her death.
"He therefore denies that he murdered her."
The State alleges Kana unlawfully and deliberately sexually penetrated Booysen with his penis or with another object not known to the State, between February 1 and 2 this year, near Kleinbegin, Bredasdorp.
Kana then allegedly used his hand or another object to disembowel her, which resulted in her death at Tygerberg Hospital on Saturday, February 2.
The matter would now go to trial and the State would use Kana's admissions as evidence against him.
"This will shorten the trial because the focus of the trial will be on proving the exact circumstances of the rape and the remaining murder charge," Ntabazalila said.
The case was postponed until July 9 for provincial public prosecutions director Rodney de Kock to decide whether the trial should be held in the regional court or the Western Cape High Court.
Two weeks ago the State dropped charges against Kana's co-accused, 22-year-old Jonathan Davids. At the time, Ntabazalila said an investigation had revealed there was insufficient evidence to secure a conviction.
"We understand the sense of shock and outrage that was induced by the incident. However, as the prosecution, we can only prosecute successfully on sufficient evidence," he said.
Before she died, Booysen said from her hospital bed that five or six men were involved in the attack. She mentioned the name "Zwai", which was both the nickname of Davids and another man said to live in Zwelitsha.
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