In his weekly letter to the nation on November 25 President Cyril Ramaphosa marked the start of 16 days of activism for No Violence against Women and Children in support of the UN campaign.
He highlighted gender-based violence (GBV) against women and children in our country — the incidences of being beaten, assaulted and killed in the streets, in the workplace, at places of learning and in the home — is pervasive.
He added that we need to create safe spaces — whether in schools, religious settings, workplaces or police stations — where women can speak freely about experiences of abuse, and where they can find care and support.
Ramaphosa referenced sexism, masculine toxicity and the fact that GBV thrives in a climate of silence and that this needs to stop.
On the same day police minister Senzo Mchunu released the second-quarter crime statistics, which showed South Africa is regressing in its fight against GBV as 957 women and 315 children were killed between July and September — an increase from previous figures.
Five years ago Ramaphosa said GBV should be declared a second pandemic in the country, as serious as Covid-19.
“It is with the heaviest of hearts that I stand before the women and girls of South Africa to talk about another pandemic that is raging in our country: the killing of women and children by the men of our country,” he said at the time.
The marked difference in the approach and tone last week is perplexing given the sheer scale of the impact of murder and sexual assault of women and children in our country.
It's just as confounding to learn, as the Sunday Times reported, a suspended magistrate who is soft on child rapists continues to sit at home, earning a salary of R1.4m since 2020 while a case against her is yet to get off the ground.
Staggeringly that means Kholeka Bodlani, who presided in the sex offences court in Umlazi from 2013 until several sentences she imposed in child rape matters were flagged as completely out of step with the law in 2019, has earned about R6m so far. The disciplinary will also go ahead sometime next year.
It was only in July 2020 that she was suspended after a report to parliament by then justice minister Ronald Lamola, who said at the time Bodlani had “tarnished the good name, dignity and esteem” of the magistrate’s office, and that her conduct was “embarrassing and tarnished the image of the judiciary at large”.
The extent of her “mercy” judgments on the most vile of offenders — fathers, uncles, brothers and friends who violated young, vulnerable girls — is sickening to the core.
In just one example, Bodlani gave an Umlazi man a wholly suspended sentence because she decided to 'show mercy to a loving and caring father' after he raped his daughter. He has now gone to jail for life
In review proceedings, high court judges referred the rulings back to different magistrates for sentencing to begin afresh and most have been sentenced to the fullest letter of the law.
In just one example, Bodlani gave an Umlazi man a wholly suspended sentence because she decided to “show mercy to a loving and caring father” after he raped his daughter. He has now gone to jail for life.
His daughter was the eldest of four and was 11 at the time of the crime in April 2016. During the criminal proceedings, the child submitted a victim impact statement saying she had been excited to visit her father and did not think something bad would happen to her.
“My father did something I will never forget in my life,” she said — and judges Mohini Moodley and Philip Nkosi deemed Bodlani’s ruling as a “shocking aberration”.
While our country prides itself on our constitution and enshrines the rights and affirms the democratic values of human dignity, equality and freedom to all our people, it seems repugnant the wheels of justice are not moving in this matter.
Bodlani is no doubt entitled to a fair hearing, but for it to drag on for four years while taxpayers fork out millions appears to be an injustice — almost like a double assault on the voiceless victims.
The Magistrate’s Commission confirms the delays, and while we are painfully aware budgetary constraints nationally have left hundreds of departments in all spheres of government vastly under-resourced, this failing speaks to a fractious crack in the system.
When Sindisiwe Chikunga, minister in the presidency for women, youth and people with disabilities, was reminded that the president had called GBV our second pandemic and should be prioritised, she blamed a lack of resources.
The government needs to do more to ensure that one of the most critical challenges which undermines human rights and obstructs our progress towards a more just and inclusive society, is urgently fast-tracked.
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