The community of Hartswater in the Northern Cape is expected to protest outside the Hartswater Magistrate’s Court on Monday where a murder suspect will apply for bail.
Elvis Malebogo appeared briefly in court a week ago. The 27-year old Malebogo allegedly killed his former girlfriend, Botshelo Motsomi, last week Sunday.
According to residents, Maleboga is a troublesome man who terrorized the entire community. Motsomi also had a Protection Order against him. Motsomi was buried on Saturday.
Another man is expected in the Bellville Magistrate Court in Cape Town on murder charges. The 28-year-old man is expected to appear in connection with the death of a 28-year-old woman and her seven-year-old daughter.
Altecia Kortjie was stabbed multiple times in her house in Belhar, about two weeks ago and her daughter drowned in a bathtub.
It is alleged that Kortjie had been the victim of abuse for years.
The Public Protector is reportedly probing whether she sought a restraining order against the accused prior to her death.
Meanwhile, police say they are following up leads after the body of a 17-year-old girl was found in Philippi on the Cape Flats. Spokesperson Andre Traut says the cause of her death is yet to be determined.
The girl’s death comes during a public outcry against GBV in South Africa.
“The circumstances around the death of a 17-year-old girl are being investigated by Nyanga police after her naked body was discovered in Albert Luthuli street in Browns Farm this morning at around seven o’clock. Any person with information that can assist the police investigation is kindly being requested to contact crime stop on 0860010111,” says Traut.
Meanwhile on Sunday actor, Sello Maake Ka-Ncube led a men’s march from Nasrec in Johannesburg to the Union Buildings in Pretoria in a bid to urge the Presidency to seek better strategies to end gender-based violence.
The march under a new Movement of South African men called ACT NOW aimed to highlight the scourge of GBV and send a strong message to abusers to stop violating women and children.
Maake Ka-Ncube called on all men to become better examples for their sons and young men in the country.
“To all the man I am saying let’s stop this killing, let’s learn to forgive ourselves and let’s reconstruct ourselves and basically change. We come from a very difficult past, we come from difficult families where maybe we are imitating what we are doing from what we saw was happening when we were growing up as young boys. But now, what we are saying is men let’s stand up and get rid of this scourge that is decimating our society.”
ActNow, is calling for constitutional reform, police reform, functional rape crisis centres, the establishment of GBV centres, family nucleus and men and boy child dialogue.
These are contained in a petition which the movement submitted to the Presidency on Sunday.
There has been a rise in GBV cases since alert Level 3 of the nationwide lockdown began on June 1.
The spike in GBV since the start of the lockdown has sent shock waves across the country. In the first week alone, the South African Police Service (SAPS) has recorded 2300 complaints of GBV. However, many remain unreported.
- ACTNow March against GBV
- Act Now Movement march against gender-based violence.
- ActNow, the movement of men against gender-based violence
