Tough laws needed to deal with murderers in SA

In his weekly letter on Monday, President Cyril Ramaphosa said three bills related to gender-based violence had been introduced in parliament.

Among many issues, the bills seek to make it difficult for sex offenders to be granted bail and expands the offences for which minimum sentences must be imposed. If passed, the bills will also enable complainants to apply for a protection order online.

We applaud parliament for tackling the proverbial elephant in the room — gender-based violence. Sadly the release of the president’s letter coincided with a report by this newspaper that a woman had been killed, allegedly by her husband, at  Madeira police station in Mthatha.

Reports say the 28-year-old woman had gone to the station to seek a protection order against a man she married in July.

While she was being attended, an enraged man entered the charge office and shot the woman several times, much to the horror of police officers and onlookers.

The killing comes hardly a week after Women’s Month, a period in which, as a country, we seek to remind ourselves of the women’s rights.

For us in the Eastern Cape it also reminds us of the killing of UCT student Uyinene Mrwetyana, boxer Leighandre Jegels and East London resident Angelique Clarke-Abrahams within a few days apart in 2019.

All these women died at the hands of either their lovers or a man that appeared trustworthy.

SA’s constitution has been hailed across the globe as progressive. However, at this juncture we should be asking why is such a comprehensive document failing us where it matters most — the right to life?

The Madeira killing is intriguing because it happened at a police station. In 2018, the country was shocked to learn that alleged criminals from Mancoba Seven Angels Ministry had stormed a Ngcobo police station, killed officers and stolen firearms. Where does one get the audacity to attack a state security establishment or commit crime in one of them?

Where do women hide from callous murderers if they can be followed and killed at police stations? 

As the lawmakers deal with the three bills it is our hope they will be processed speedily to curb GBV.

Maybe the time has arrived, too, to relook at murder as the country’s number one enemy. Harsh laws are needed, and urgently so, to put a halt to senseless killings.

Citizens are tired of blood being spilt on a daily basis as if we are a country at war.