.png)
2024-03-28 11:40:00 +0200
To: SAPS
#JusticeforMome, no bail for her perpetrators
The accused perpetrators should be denied bail for Relebohile’s murder. Please move to deny bail and provide sufficient evidence in support of the denial of bail in the interests of community safety. On Friday night, March 1, Relebohile was allegedly fetched by her two female friends and their boyfriends, the couple are said to have then headed to a local pub in Sebokeng. They later spent the evening out in Evaton, only for the night to end terribly when one of the men allegedly raped Mofokeng and began torturing her to death.
The Evaton police received a murder complaint from Beverly Hills and when they arrived at the scene, they found the lifeless body of the 19-year-old lying next to a plastic bag.
Mpho Mofokeng (24), Relebohile’s sister, said: “When I got there, I thought maybe she had blacked out, so I decided to pour water on her but received no response. I do not think I will ever heal from this" [1]
Why is this important?
We live in a country where women are abused on a daily. “As of the 2022/2023 fiscal year, almost 53,900 South Africans reported being a victim of a sexual crime. Of those, around 80 percent registered being raped, while close to 7,600 South Africans disclosed being sexually assaulted [2].
”On average, 75 people were killed every day over the last year the ability of the police to solve murders has dropped by 50% since 2012 . They were able to solve around 31% of dockets in 2012 and then they were only able solve 14.5% of murders last year. So, 85% of the more than 27 000 murders reported last year were not solved" [3].
The importance of keeping the alleged perpetrators is to ensure safety of women and children in our communities. We need to put a stop to these violent behaviours that have become a norm in our communities. It has been evident in the previous years that our justice systems are failing to solve about 80% of the cases [4]. The community needs to stand up and take action for justice and for a much safer environment for our children and women. If we do not act on this now, there will be a lot more unresolved problems, there will always be murders of women and children and perpetrators will always run freely in the community. Gender based violence must come to an end. We would hate to see what happened to Relebohile to happen to another girl child. That is why we are standing up, we don’t want another victim!
References
[1] https://www.citizen.co.za/sedibeng-ster/news/2024/03/12/relebohiles-19-brutal-killing-sparks-outrage/
[2] https://mg.co.za/thought-leader/analysis/2023-09-18-saps-bungle-farm-murder-cases-as-much-as-other-killings/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CBasically%2C%20the%20ability%20of%20the,not%20solved%2C%E2%80%9D%20he%20said.
[3] https://mg.co.za/thought-leader/analysis/2023-09-18-saps-bungle-farm-murder-cases-as-much-as-other-killings/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CBasically%2C%20the%20ability%20of%20the,not%20solved%2C%E2%80%9D%20he%20said
[4] https://www.dfa.co.za/south-african-news/action-society-laments-completely-unacceptable-unsolved-crime-rate-45bfd8fb-e5e6-4b7b-ac7f-47f4ba6711bd/#:~:text=In%20a%20statement%20on%20Monday,in%20South%20Africa%20go%20unsolved