The president of the Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa, Kgoši Mathopa Mokoena, has reignited the controversial debate over extreme punishments for sexual offenders, calling on the government to consider castration for repeat rapists.
Speaking at a gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) imbizo in Monamoneng Village outside Acornhoek, Mpumalanga, on Friday, Mokoena stunned attendees with his candid proposal.
“I often tell people that we need to launch a search for rapists who terrorise communities,” he said.
Chief supports castration
“We should [be allowed to] do it as traditional leaders, where we grab the rapist and we just remove ‘one’. We say to him, ‘Go home. If you do it again, we remove the second one’. He will no longer be able to do anything.”
Mokoena, who also chairs the Mpumalanga House of Traditional Leaders and Khoisan, argued that tradition is meant to safeguard women, not to abuse them. He lashed out at men abusing sex enhancers, claiming they drive some towards violating women and children.
“Many men follow me to my car for sex boosters so the lights can switch on in the sack. But others are now using these things on wrong people. You should use them with your own spouse,” he warned.
Abuse of libido enhancers blamed
The traditional leader condemned families who shield perpetrators by offering victims’ relatives goats as reconciliation.
“Let’s not agree to be bribed in order to withdraw rape cases. When you do so, you indirectly become an accomplice to the raping of children,” he said.
His fiery remarks struck a chord with community policing forum leaders. Provincial CPF deputy chairperson Ireen Lincoln went further, demanding capital punishment.
“Most of the kids today are afraid to go to school or to face the community just because the perpetrator received a life sentence. We are saying, those who are raping women should be hanged.”
Bushbuckridge mayor Lydia Moroane also echoed the castration call.
“I’m ashamed the men here force their way into sexual intercourse. Why can’t they learn to be patient with a woman? You can propose love for over a year because you want to marry her, but these men just rape,” Moroane said.
ANCWL wants drastic action taken
“From this event, we must go hunt down these men. We shouldn’t let them get away with it. Kgoši Mokoena, you said something that we have been saying in the ANC Women’s League across the whole country. We say, ‘Hand them over, let them be castrated’. But we are being told ‘no’.”
The mayor said castration is justified, given the levels of rape that include violating toddlers and infants.
“They even rape infants still in their diapers. There is a need, Kgoši Mokoena, not to remove them one by one. We must remove the entire set. It’s so ugly. It’s so bad when men can’t even see that ‘this is my child’. This issue of drinking too many sex boosters should not be done. Let’s do it to the level that’s required,” she said.
But provincial community safety MEC Jackie Macie pushed back. He cautioned that traditional courts should not overstep their mandate on serious crimes.
“The only issue that can be taken to a tribal office, Your Highness, is where a man is busy with another man’s wife. There you can talk, and the traditional authority can adjudicate the matter properly,” he said.
“Once you rape, the matter must go straight to the police and the magistrate.”
