President Cyril Ramaphosa Addresses The Nation After The Murder of Uyinene Mrwetyana

South Africans were shocked after the news of Uyinene Mrwetyana being murdered hit the country. The former University of Cape Town student had been reported missing in August 2019 and her remains were found in a shallow grave at the residence of Luyanda Botha in September 2019.

The gruesome murder of Uyinene sparked protests and the #AmINext campaign, one aimed at naming and shaming offenders of sexual assault. Before this, however, people took to the streets of South Africa in protest of the GBV. They called for action to be taken in the form of a declaration of a state of emergency.

The President was forced to engage the country after these protests. Below is a snippet of what he had to say to marchers in Cape Town

As we await an address from the President, we hope that the State of Emergency on GBV, if declared, will have tangible and measurable outcomes over the next 90-days to include:

1. Clearing all backlog at forensics labs related to GBV and femicide especially sexual assault cases
2. Strengthening of the Sexual Investigative Unit with a quick injection of human resources and capital for an effective response.
3. Guarantee Access to Justice by setting up a special court to clear the backlog of GBVF cases starting with developing an inventory of all logged cases that have not been heard in court, this inventory should cover cases at both police and prosecutorial levels.
4. Review and act within a specific timeframe on pending complaints against police, prosecutors and magistrates especially related to GBVF cases.

And this “we shall find the money” is not a commitment to fund – we’ve heard it before, fool us once!