During a month when women are being celebrated, a hair-raising spike in the number of gender-based violence (GBV) cases had been experienced in SA.
Last week several women and children were murdered in Gauteng. Some of the victims were also raped. And being home does not offer safety and comfort for women in SA because many violent attacks on their bodies happen at home. Just like in the case of a mother and daughter in Vosloorus on Tuesday.
Ntombikhona Mkhwanazi, 21, and her mom Philisiwe Zulu, 43, were shot and killed in their home, allegedly by Mkhwanazi’s boyfriend Siyabonga Buthelezi.
Buthelezi was found dead a day after the double murder. He had allegedly taken his own life. Zulu’s other daughter, Nomfanelo Mkhwanazi, escaped with a gun wound in her hand.
Noxolo Zulu, Zulu’s niece, said: “What we know is that they had a fight on Tuesday afternoon which led to Siya assaulting Ntombi. She called her mother and her mother told her to come back home because things were tense between them.”
Mkhwanazi arrived home but shortly thereafter there were gunshots outside their yard.
“They peeped through the window and saw Siya running into the yard. They ran to the door which was open but they got to it at the same time as Siya got there. Siya tried to push the door open while they tried to close it,” Noxolo said.
Buthelezi fired several shots through the door, killing Zulu instantly.
Six bullet holes were visible on the door when Sowetan visited the house on Thursday.
“He then walked in and shot Ntombi three times before fleeing the scene,” Noxolo said.
Police spokesperson Brig Mathapelo Peters said Buthelezi was found dead after he hanged himself in Boksburg.
Noxolo said: “He was a coward because he didn't want to face the consequences of his actions and robbed us of an opportunity to understand what happened. This was not the first time he was abusive to her because Ntombi did say he assaulted her before.”
This incident is just one in many reported on a weekly basis which have led anti-GBV movements to argue that a holistic approach should be adopted to end the scourge of femicide in SA.
Themba Masango from #NotInMyName movement said society cannot lay the responsibility of fighting GBV at government’s door.
“We need to approach this scourge with the same vigour we have used to tackle Covid-19. We need to stop working in silos, especially men, we need to collectively be held responsible and need to call each other out to prevent these incidents from becoming an occurrence,” Masango said.
He said #NotInMyName was focusing on the boy child by instilling principles that were against GBV.
“We need to start early to raise a generation of men whose existence is devoid of toxic masculinity and patriarchy and that is what we are doing at the moment.”
Mary Makgaba, CEO at People Opposed to Women Abuse (Powa), said Powa was planning a summit with individuals from different fields of expertise to raise awareness on GBV but also to find solutions.
“We want to bring together criminologists, psychologists, and social workers to understand why these incidents are widespread and how we can eradicate it from our societies.”
On August 5, Sowetan reported about another woman who was killed at her home, also allegedly by her boyfriend. Dorcas Rathokane was doused with paraffin and set alight in Tembisa. She died after nine days in hospital. Thabo Mokoena was arrested for her murder. He appeared in the Tembisa magistrate’s court on August 17 and is expected to appear again on Friday.
Rathokane's niece Refiloe Mofokeng said: “Whatever issues they had, it did not have to end with her losing her life because they had a misunderstanding. But we are happy that he has been arrested and he will face the law.”
Also last week, Tshilidzi Masase was found murdered and raped in Ivory Park, a few metres from her home on Monday. The man alleged to have committed the act, Fani Ndlovu, was killed during a suspected act of mob justice.
Brigadier Peters said: “The SAPS also needs to make their voice heard in calling for greater tolerance by men in general. The levels of violence against women and children have reached alarming proportions, especially considering that Gauteng also registered high volumes of murders in the crime statistics of the previous year.”
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