Naledi: Sentencing today

MOSSEL BAY NEWS - A beautiful woman and mother of two young children, in the prime of her life, stabbed with a knife and then hacked with an axe - at the hands of her children's father.

This is how Naledi Phandigawo (26) of KwaNonqaba, Mossel Bay, was brutally murdered in June last year.

There is a face to every name of those in the Mossel Bay area who have died because of gender-based violence: Yanga Mayabela, Cheslyn Goliath, Baby Alime Mbashe, Lyn Joy Roman, Natasha September (Anestacha), Michaela Booysen, Thandeka Mashumi, Yolin Kannemeyer, Clodine Nuys and Mthura Khalani, to name but a few.

Male problem

Gender-based violence is a problem of male violence, so it is men who need to stand up for the rights of women and children. This is what South Africa's president, Cyril Ramaphosa said at the start of the International 16 Days of Activism campaign to increase awareness of the impact of gender violence on society.

The campaign started on 25 November and ends on 10 December.

Ramaphosa expressed his concern that it was only women and children who took part in the 16 Days of Activism.

In Mossel Bay, Naledi's former lover, Mondli Ntlangulela (34), who handed himself over to police shortly after her murder, will be sentenced in the Mossel Bay Regional Court today, Friday, 3 December. The Justice for Naledi social media awareness campaign received nationwide attention.

Punished

Not every victim's abuser or killer gets punished for his deeds.

The latest crime statistics released by the South African Police Service show an increase in rapes, domestic violence and, most concerning, murders of children. The number of children murdered climbed by nearly a third compared with the previous reporting period.

In just three months, from July to September 2021, 9 556 people, most of whom were women, were raped.

This is 7% more than in the previous reporting period.

Of the nearly 73 000 assault cases reported during this period, more than 13 000 were domestic violence-related. And these are only the cases where victims were brave enough to report them to police.

"It is predominantly men who are rapists. It is mainly men who are perpetrators of domestic violence. Because it is men who are the main perpetrators, it should be men taking the lead in speaking out and reporting gender-based violence, in raising awareness, in peer education and in prevention efforts," Ramaphosa said.