Pretoria - Women, Children and People with Disabilities Minister Lulu Xingwana has welcomed the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NPA) announcement to call for a maximum sentence against the accused in the brutal murder case of 4-year-old Jasmin Pretorius.
Jasmin was allegedly raped and murdered by her uncle, 23, in Brakpan, south east of Johannesburg.
Minister Xingwana has called for the suspect to be denied bail to ensure that justice is served in a manner that will send a strong message that “the abuse of women and children has no place in our society.”
The minister further expressed deep concern that hardly into the New Year, already, there are several shocking incidents of women and children who have been seriously injured, raped or murdered by their family members.
“There is something fundamentally wrong with the foundation of our society when women and children are made to live in terror even in their own homes. Domestic violence is a social evil that must be uprooted from our communities,” she said.
The accused appeared briefly before the Brakpan Magistrate Court on Tuesday where the case was postponed to Monday, January 13.
Some of the recent cases involve:
- Baby L who is fighting for her life at the Steve Biko Academic Hospital’s intensive care unit after sustaining several injuries, including severe bruising all over her body, a punctured pancreas and kidney and suspected brain damage. The two-year-old girl incurred these injuries allegedly at the hands of her mother’s boyfriend. The two appeared in court on a charge of attempted murder yesterday.
- A premature baby and her mother from Mdantsane, near East London, Eastern Cape who are critical but stable in hospital after the pregnant woman’s boyfriend was arrested on Thursday for allegedly stabbing her following a lengthy argument. The baby sustained stab wounds whilst inside her mother.
- Two siblings aged eight and 10-year-old were shot dead in Ga-Chuene, near Lebowakgomo, Limpopo allegedly by their stepfather.
- A Chatsworth father in Kwazulu-Natal was handed over to the police by his family on Tuesday for allegedly bludgeoning to death his wife and two teenage children with a Gada – a traditional Indian mace carried by the Hindu god Hanuman.
“We are calling on all members of society to play a role in ensuring that every day is a day of no violence against women and children.
“Let us be proactive in reporting incidents of abuse and not wait until it is too late – when a life has been lost,” said Xingwana. - SAnews.gov.za
