Alexi Bizos sentenced for assault on ex-wife a decade ago

Businessman Alexi Bizos, who attacked his then wife Monique van Oosterhout at their Johannesburg home in 2015 and left her with six broken ribs, has been fined and ordered to perform community work.

Barry Bateman from AfriForum, which pursued the case, said on Friday the Johannesburg magistrate's court ordered him to pay a fine of R100,000 and sentenced him to 12 months' imprisonment wholly suspended and six months' correctional supervision, which includes 20 hours a month of community work at centres for women.

Bizos, the son of the late struggle stalwart and lawyer George Bizos, was convicted in July last year of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

During her evidence-in-chief in the trial, led by AfriForum private prosecution head Gerrie Nel, Van Oosterhout told the court that on the evening of March 16 2015, after a verbal altercation with Bizos, she approached him in his study.

After a brief discussion, she said he punched her in the face. She fell to the ground. The attack continued with Bizos ramming her into the bookshelf, which resulted in fractures which were later identified in a CAT scan.

Bizos had pleaded not guilty, citing self-defence, saying Van Oosterhout was the aggressor. She denied this claim. He was convicted last year.

Nel secured a trial date in 2020 and started the private prosecution after the National Prosecuting Authority failed to prosecute Bizos.

After judgment was handed down, Van Oosterhout said she would never have had the opportunity to tell her story if it wasn’t for the unit. “This is not just justice for my case but justice for every woman who’s been abused, accused, shamed and blamed.”

Bateman said the unit will continue its fight to ensure nobody is above the law.

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