The Commission for Gender Equality welcomes the 25-year jail sentence handed out to Alutha Pasile by the East London High Court for the murder of Nosicelo Mtebeni. The speed and efficiency with which the prosecutors and court conducted the case, is a model that should be applied to all cases of Gender-Based Violence and Femicide. “South Africa is experiencing unprecedented levels of violence against women and girls, and this calls for aggressive and speedy resolution of police investigations and court cases,” said Commission Chairperson Tamara Mathebula.
The Commission further calls on the criminal justice system to speed up all GBVF related cases that have stalled in the system. The South African government has committed to the global Sustainable Development Goals, one of which is to end gender-based violence by 2030. “With just less than ten years left before 2030 and the GBV scourge escalating at the current pace, South Africa will likely miss this SDG target and that will be a poor reflection of the country’s efforts in the fight against violence on women. That would render the country’s commemoration of Women’s Month and 16 Days of Activism as useless,” Mathebula said. The Commission is also calling for the justice system to move with the same efficiency and speed in the rape case against Timothy Omotoso in the Port Elizabeth High Court.
“One of the recommendations of the Commission’s Gender Transformation Hearings in the Institutions of Higher Learning is the greater need to ensure safety of students in both Technical and Vocational Education Trainings Colleges (TVET) and Universities. These include those staying in campuses and off-campus residences and other facilities that are rented by these institutions,” Mathebula further added.
