Almost every day we read about a woman raped or murdered by cruel men. This week I read with deep sorrow about the untimely death of Hillary Gardee who was gruesomely murdered by heartless men.
Nowadays, women live in fear in and outside their homes because men have turned themselves into merciless beasts whose mindset is defiled by evil thoughts. Fellow men, women are not owing us anything and they deserve to live their lives free from fear of being abused or murdered.
As responsible men, we ought to protect children and women from rapists and killers. Men who rape or kill women should face severe punishment in courts. They’re misfits in our society; put them in a drum and light a coal fire underneath it so that they can taste the pain they inflict on a raped woman.
Our constitution declares that everyone has a right to life, but some people keep killing innocent people only to be kept in jail to serve their sentences and come out alive, often far earlier than the stipulated sentence. Some come out wealthy with others boasting diplomas and degrees.
Where do these inmates get money to fund their education and start businesses behind bars? SA prisons are entertainment centres and not for punishment or correction. We should learn from Zimbabwe, where prison life is so harsh that you would never want to end up there.
We can't have our taxes funding murderers and rapists, paying for their fancy meals and education when law-abiding citizens struggle for food and funding for education and businesses.
It is disappointing that law enforcement officers have joined in SA's lawlessness. The cops have a tendency of arriving on the scene of crime late to avoid accosting criminals. If armed cops fear criminals, what about the poor citizens who look up to them for protection and safety?
We claim to live in a democracy and yet there's no peace in our country. Hillary Gardee was murdered while she was out shopping with her little daughter. I would like to challenge our government to demand police patrols around our malls, in the CBDs, suburbs and townships so that criminals would think twice before they commit crime. Police visibility should also be heightened by foot patrols by men and women in blue, as it is done in most cities of the world.
Our justice system is not fair because when police carry out their duties, criminals open cases against them. In apartheid SA, criminals feared the police because they knew that they would be dealt with without mercy for breaking the law; even for misbehaviour in public.
However, in the current dispensation, cops and criminals eat from the same plate and we wonder why dockets go missing.
I am concerned that cops do not respond timeously at the crime scenes but are always on time to collect bribes. I think our police still need thorough training and discipline to be able to carry out their policing duties correctly. As for the murder of Gardee, police must do much to restore our faith in them by arresting her killers soonest.
And as for EFF leader Julius Malema, he must tone down on vigilantism talk and show responsible leadership. Citizens cannot be allowed to take the law into their own hands. So, Malema, allow the cops to do their work, with the help of the public.
May the soul of Hillary Gardee rest in peace, and her family be consoled in this difficult time.
• Tebeila is a Sowetan reader
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