Latest news with #AmINext
IOL News
2 days ago
- IOL News
Lest We Forget: honouring the victims of gender-based violence in South Africa
Slain UCT student Uyinene Mrwetyana. File Picture: Independent Newspapers Slain UCT student Uyinene Mrwetyana. Image: Independent Newspapers They were the victims of gender-based violence. All murdered by men and their deaths made headlines. This Women' Month, it is vital that our celebrations do not overshadow the names of women whose pain sparked transformative movements. These names Uyinene, Anene, Anni, Meghan, Leighandré, Jesse, and Hannah, symbolise much more than tragedy. Movements such as 'Say Her Name' and 'Not in My Name' emerged in their honour, demanding justice and refusing complacency. Uyinene 'Nene' Mrwetyana, a University of Cape Town student, was raped and murdered in August 2019. Her murder compelled the nation to confront gender-based violence and ignited the #AmINext movement, shifting the collective national consciousness. Luyanda Botha, who worked at the Clareinch Post Office in Claremont where Mrwetyana's body was found hidden inside the safe of the post office, and then later dumped and doused with an accelerant before being set alight, was charged with two counts of rape in addition to a murder charge, as well as one count of defeating the ends of justice and was eventually handed down three life sentences for the crime. Leighandre 'Baby Lee' Jegels Image: Supplied Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ Leighandré Jegels, a 25-year-old boxing champion, was fatally shot by her ex-partner just days before Uyinene's death, highlighting once again the prevalence of femicide. Anene Booysen, a 17-year-old victim of brutal gang rape and murder in 2013, became a symbol of outrage against the epidemic of violence towards young women. Booysen was raped and disembowelled after having drinks at a pub with her friends and was later seen leaving with Johannes Kana. Kana was handed a double life sentence for the rape and murder of the Bredasdorp teenager. Anni Dewani, whose honeymoon in South Africa ended in her death in 2010, sparked global media debate about justice, privilege, and institutional failure. TRAGIC STORY: Anene Booysen was raped and killed. Photo: HENK KRUGER Anene Booysen Image: Supplied Dewani's husband, British businessman Shrien Dewani, was initially charged for murder after she was shot during an apparent hijacking in Gugulethu, but was acquitted on all charges on December 8, 2014. Xolile Mngeni was handed a life sentence in 2012, and died in prison two years later from a brain tumour. Mziwamadoda Qwabe received 25 years for hijacking and murder and is still serving his sentence. In September 2016, 18-year-old Lekita Moore's naked and mutilated body was found on an open field in Vallah Park. She was stabbed 98 times, and her face, breasts and vagina were slashed. Anni Dewani Image: File Moore's case touched the hearts of many after her mother Shireen ended up on tik, deteriorating at every court case. Shireen passed on in 2023. Lekita's killer, Cameron Wilson, was sentenced to four life terms and 71 years behind bars for a string of convictions including murder, rape, and attempted murder. Meghan Cremer, a young showjumper and bakery manager, disappeared from her home in Schaapkraal in 2019. Her body was found dumped on an open sand dune five days later, in the Philippi area. In 2019, Cremer's accused killer, Jeremy Sias, was found not guilty of murder after the court ruled the State had failed to prove its case. Lekita Moore Image: File He was convicted of two counts of theft and defeating the ends of justice for stealing her belongings and dumping her body. Sias received an eight-year sentence, suspended for four years. Jesse Hess, a 19-year-old theology student, was raped and murdered shortly after winning a competition celebrating Women's Month, her life stolen so cruelly at a time meant for celebration. David van Boven was convicted and sentenced to two life terms for the murder of Hess and her grandfather. He was also convicted and sentenced for two counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances, sexual assault and fraud. Meghan Cremer Image: Facebook Tasliem Ambrose, a second accused, who entered into a plea agreement with the State, was acquitted of the murders, sexual assault, fraud and theft and was sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment on two counts of robbery. Hannah Cornelius, a Stellenbosch University student, was abducted during a car ride shared with a friend in May 2017. Over extended hours, she endured gang rape and brutal violence before being murdered in what became known as a horrific 'ride from hell.' Her killers were eventually sentenced in 2018. Jesse Hess Image: File Vernon Witbooi and Geraldo Parsons were sentenced to life imprisonment for her murder and life for her rape. Witbooi and Parsons also received 25 years each for the attempted murder of Cornelius' friend, 15 years for four counts of robbery and 10 years for their kidnapping. Eben van Niekerk received life sentences for Cornelius' rape and murder, 20 years for each robbery, and a combined 18 years for kidnapping, and 20 years for the attempted murder of Cornelius' friend. Nashville Julius was handed 15 years for two counts of robbery and seven years for the students' kidnapping. Her parents went on to establish the Hannah Cornelius Foundation, supporting grieving families and advocating for safe pathways forward. Hannah Cornelius Image: File
TimesLIVE
03-06-2025
- TimesLIVE
South Africa's children are under siege — and it's all our baby now
As the country commemorates National Child Protection Week from May 29 to June 5 to raise awareness about the rights of children, we are once again reminded that this moment of reflection is not symbolic. It is urgent. The latest crime statistics from the South African Police Service for the third quarter of the 2024/25 financial year (October to December 2024) reveal a distressing escalation of violence against children. During this period, 273 children were murdered, 480 were victims of attempted murder, and 2,164 suffered assaults with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm. These figures are not mere numbers; they represent young lives lost or irrevocably damaged. They signify a society failing its most vulnerable members. These figures are not abstractions. They are children with names, birthdays, families and futures that will never be realised. They are the silent dead in a country that is becoming disturbingly accustomed to the normalisation of violence. A nation desensitised, a system in decay The high rates of violence against children are not isolated incidents. They are the logical outcome of a deeply unequal society with weakened protective systems and an eroded social contract. Despite a progressive legal framework — the Children's Act, the Sexual Offences Act, the Child Justice Act — enforcement continues to falter. A recent report by our long-standing partner, the Teddy Bear Foundation, found that of more than 5,000 reported child abuse cases from 2019 to 2024, only 4% resulted in convictions. Four per cent! The rest were withdrawn, many due to lack of evidence or absence of witnesses; this is a telling sign of a justice system ill-equipped to protect those most in need of its care. This failure is not technical. It is structural. It reveals a system where the burden to speak, to testify, to prove harm, still rests on traumatised children, often without access to support or protection. What we are seeing is not a justice system working poorly, but a justice system not working at all for children. The statistics are numbing. But the stories behind them are searing. We remember Uyinene Mrwetyana, murdered in 2019 — a case that galvanised a national reckoning and ignited the #AmINext movement. Her murder should have been the turning point. Instead, it has joined a litany of tragedies still unfolding.
