The scourge of gender-based-violence continues to affect women and girl children mostly in the hands of those they love. This is despite calls made by President Cyril Ramaphosa to give harsher sentences to anyone who is convicted of Gender-Based Violence, South African women continue to be battered by their loved once.

CRIME STATISTICS 

At the beginning of 2023, police Minister Bheki Cele released shocking crime statistics from January 1 to March 31 March where it emerged that the killing of women by their loved ones continue to rise. It showed that in the first three months, 1,512 women were raped every day in South Africa while there were attempts on the lives of 1,485 women, 969 women were killed and over 15 000 were assaulted. During the Women's Day Celebrations on August 9, in an event held at the Union Buildings in Pretoria in Gauteng, President Cyril Ramaphosa called for stricter measures to fight the scourge of women abuse in the country. "We have decided to get to a stage where we say wathinta, abafazi, wathinta imbokodo (You strike a woman, you strike a rock). We have implemented tougher bail conditions on Gender-Based-Violence perpetrators if they touch a woman. No police bail will be granted to rape perpetrators, such must be applied in court. In my book, all rape perpetrators must not get bail. These laws must be rolled out as soon as possible," said Ramaphosa. In a twist of events, none of the above-proposed laws were passed by the Ramaphosa's administration.

SHOCKING GBV CASES

ZiMoja reported weekly about the cases of women being killed mostly by males they have close relationships with.In September, Magistrate Mamello Thamae who went missing and her body was found in the boot of Lehlohonolo Makotoane's car at a lodge in Lesotho. She was allegedly killed because she wanted to leave her husband. It later emerged that Makotoane killed Thamae in their home in Hebron before transporting the body to Lesotho. Makotoane was arrested and transferred back to South Africa. In April John Nkgudi (52) allegedly murdered his wife Tinny (51) after they argued at their home in Tsakane in Ekurhuleni in Gauteng. It is alleged that Nkgudi fetched an axe during the argument, stick and a shovel, and then started assaulting his wife in front of their grandchild. Tinny's body was discovered the next day by her daughter when she got home from work. In May, South Africa was again shocked when a Soshanguve couple Sibusiso Mahlangu (33) and Lerato Mahlangu (32) were arrested in connection with the murder of the woman's ex and baby daddy, burnt the body of the deceased at their house in Block HH in Soshanguve on 02 January 2022. Thereafter the wife, Lerato, allegedly obtained a fraudulent death certificate from the Department of Home Affairs, claiming that her husband Sibusiso died in a fire and later claimed from life policies. The couple was arrested on 20 April 2023 after the husband was found in possession of a stolen car in Hammanskraal. Recently, Refiloe Mokgotho from Praktiseer in Limpopo was stabbed six times, allegedly her her estranged husband in front of their toddler. Her husband Freddy Mokgotho hanged himself at their house after the murder. Refiloe's mother Maria Nkuna told mourners during her daughter's funeral that she was in an abusive marriage for eight years. These are a few killings of many that continue to happen everyday, unfortunately.