The residents of Klipspruit West in the south of Johannesburg are planning to march against the murder of Janine Williams, a victim of gender-based (GBV) violence.
The 40-year-old Williams was stabbed 24 times by her ex-husband. The gruesome attack took place on Christmas Day in the presence of their daughters.
The protestors, who plan to take to the streets in huge numbers on Saturday, will march to the local police station to oppose the suspect’s bail application which will be heard in court on Tuesday. He faces a charge of murder.
The protest will commence from the late Williams’ house to the Kliptown police station, where a memorandum will be handed over to the police. Among others, the residents want pending cases to be attended to speedily and that the police should work with the residents in solving the GBV cases.
Simone van der Nest, the late Williams’ sister, said: “We are marching for all the GBV victims who have been turned away when they want to open cases [at the police stations].
“They refused to open a case on December 25 when my sister was murdered, but Captain Sambo forced them [the police on duty] to register the case. Bail should not be granted to perpetrators, they should face the full might of the law. I just want justice for my sister and every other gender-based violence victim.”
As millions celebrate the month of love, many other women also find themselves in abusive relationships, which sometimes end in murder.
In Pretoria, a 20-year-old Tshwane University of Technology student Ntokozo Xaba was allegedly stabbed multiple times by her boyfriend Ngcebo Thusi this month. The rugby player abandoned his bail application when he appeared in court this week.
In another GBV incident in Setlagole village near Mahikeng in North West, a 32-year-old mother of three Refilwe Dithobiso was allegedly killed by her 58-year-old boyfriend with whom she had a 20-month-old baby.
In a separate incident in Orkney near Klerksdorp, also in North West, a 34-year-old ANC MP, Sibusiso Kula, is facing a charge of murder after his wife, Jennifer Mohlomi-Kula, was found dead on the floor of their house.
In Mahikeng, the partially burnt body of a 29-year-old mother of one, Rorisang Baakwalanya from Kuruman in Northern Cape, was found dumped in Lokaleng village early in February. No one has been arrested for the crime.
Naledi Kuali of People Opposing Women Abuse said low and slow rates of arrests also contribute to an increase in GBV cases. In January, an independent data company, Statista, published a report showing that in 2022, South Africa ranked first in countries with high crime levels on the continent.
According to police crime statistics, about 11 000 cases of rape were reported in the first quarter of 2022. In 2020, when the Covid-19 hard lockdown was implemented, more than 120 000 GBV cases were recorded across the country in the first three weeks of lockdown.
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