The tragic situation of violence against women continues in South Africa, as evidenced by murder cases. For instance, Amanda Kosani, 37, was killed in the informal settlement of Newrest in Namato, Port Alfred, Eastern Cape, while visiting relatives for Women's Day.
Before her death, Kosani was repeatedly observed with bruises and injuries. Despite her loved ones being aware of her danger, their attempts to save her life were unsuccessful. Her 40-year-old partner was arrested the day after the murder and charged with the crime. This brutal killing occurred in a month dedicated to honoring women in South Africa, and in a province where women are most vulnerable to rape or murder.
Daily Victims
Kosani is one of many women killed in South Africa during this Women's Month. Police statistics for the first quarter of the financial year, published on Friday, show that between April and June, 569 women were killed in South Africa, and another 1052 survived attacks. Women and children accounted for 8814 out of 9201 victims of rape over three months, which is 96%.
Most rape cases occurred where the victim or attacker lived: 4121 out of 6596 registered cases were committed in residential premises, compared to 1462 cases in public places. The rate of rape in the Eastern Cape is 22.3 per 100,000 people, which is higher than the national rate of 14.5. The murder rate in the province is 15.8, while the national average is 8.5.
The province recorded 1476 cases of rape from April to June, matching the number from the same period last year. Of these, 112 were linked to domestic violence, and 37 people died as a result of domestic violence cases in the province during the quarter. Nationally, 193 people were killed and 871 raped in cases of domestic violence.
The current Minister of Police, Firoz Kachalia, stated that crimes against women and children have increased over the quarter, despite a decrease in murders, car thefts, and robberies. Kachalia emphasized: 'Gender-based violence and femicide require urgent attention from all sectors of society.'
Other cases of violence include: Taymin Platt, 24, a traffic controller, was stabbed in an apartment in Ersterust, Pretoria, on August 1, allegedly by her 25-year-old partner. Police reported that the argument occurred after the partner arrived. A case of gender-based violence had previously been filed against Platt, which was never concluded.
A week later, on August 8, early in the morning in Orlando East, Soweto, Josephine Tshabalalu, 37, was seen. Her body was discovered in a room on August 13 with stab wounds and multiple bruises. Sisimo Silomo Phakati, 27, who shared the room with her, was arrested in Clerksdorp on August 19 and appeared in the Orlando Magistrate's Court two days later on charges of murder.
Additionally, 15-year-old Amogelang Motskhwaedi was killed in the village of Dinokana near Zeerust, allegedly by her boyfriend, and a 17-year-old young man was arrested. In another incident on August 18, a 36-year-old woman was shot near Twilling in Free State after leaving work in Reitz and getting into a car, unaware that her ex-boyfriend was inside and planning an attack. The man died in a shootout with the police, and IPID is investigating.
Meanwhile, police in Moeka Wuma, near Makapanstad, in the North West province, are searching for James Mohajane, 41, suspected of murdering his girlfriend, her sister, and the sister's boyfriend, whose bodies were found in a house on Sunday. Two more women, Roline Lessing and Jaydin Margerman, along with two anti-crime unit members, died in a shooting at Riger Park.
Police representative, Captain Marius McCarthy, reported that in Kosani's case, she arrived in the outer room on the relatives' property on Sunday evening. Later that same evening, her partner approached a group of people at a local bar and asked for an ambulance, claiming he had injured his girlfriend. However, no one checked on her condition.
McCarthy noted: 'Witnesses did not take the request seriously at the time, dismissing it due to the couple's history of marital disputes, as well as alcohol consumption.' 'The sad discovery was made the next morning, Monday, August 10, around 6:30 am.' A relative saw the partner leaving the room, entered, and found Kosani lying motionless in bed. He informed the community, which called the police and returned the partner to the scene.
Police found Kosani's body in bed, conducted forensic examination, and found the weapon presumably causing the fatal injuries hidden under the blankets. The partner was arrested and must appear in the Port Alfred Magistrate's Court.
District Director Sarah Bartman, Major General Tandiswa Kupiso, described it as disgusting that a young woman was killed by her partner while the country celebrated the strength and value of women. Kupiso assured the public: 'SAPS guarantees the community that our detectives will build an irrefutable case so that this criminal faces the full force of the law.'
Kosani's cousin, Xolelwa Baku, said that the family learned about it the next day and she immediately went to the settlement. Baku, 29, shared: 'We were incredibly shocked when we learned she was killed.' She added that her friend told her what happened. 'I was still under the covers because it was early morning. I ran there where she was, and the people who saw her said she was not okay at all. The grief remains, and it won't go away anytime soon. The whole family is devastated.'
Baku mentioned that she had never met the partner and would see him for the first time in court. She recounted that Kosani told the family that when they argued, he would tell her they needed to break up so the situation wouldn't escalate. 'I think everyone sees when a relationship is unhealthy and leads to abuse. You can see how a person behaves, including their manner of speaking.'
A close friend reported seeing Kosani suffer injuries multiple times. The friend said: 'It continued for a long time.' 'She was severely beaten in that relationship.' 'He was so controlling. Once I saw a bruise on her, and she had to cover it with makeup.'
The public organization Thina Bahlali People's Movement stated that women are being killed weekly in Port Alfred, and the city has stopped treating it as an emergency. The organization stated: 'We cannot continue to react to every murder with shock, condolences, and outrage, and then move on until the next woman loses her life.' 'Something is seriously wrong when the loss of women becomes a recurring phenomenon in our community. We cannot celebrate women publicly while women continue to live in fear behind closed doors.' 'How many more women must die before we start treating this as an emergency.'