Senseless killings shock mayor
The executive mayor of Ekurhuleni, Cllr Mondli Gungubele, has called on local communities to be vigilant against those who abuse women and children.
Reacting to an incident in which a 32-year-old man allegedly killed his 62-year-old mother and 10-month old baby in Emfihlweni in Tembisa on Thursday, Clr Gungubele says he believes the only hope South Africa has to end the scourge of violence of any kind against women and children was if all communities came together against the perpetrators.
“This is an extremely shocking incident. How do you go about maiming members of your own family, including an innocent toddler who does not even know what is going on? This baffles the mind,” Clr Gungubele said. He added that the monsters attacking vulnerable members of society live among us.
“In most cases, they are known to the families of the victims and yet they still get away with it. We must agree that they do not belong in our space and be vigilant in blowing the whistle on them,” he said.
“Let us flush them out no matter who they are, and how much we love them.”
He said it is not normal that a mother could be arrested for poisoning her own toddlers, just like it could not be understood how a man could take a knife and stab his own mother and baby to death.
Clr Gungubele pointed out that if people are scared to expose perpetrators, they should resort to reporting them anonymously.
The country’s 16 Days of Activism Campaign started a week ago. During this period, the entire nation embarks on a programme to fight the prevalence of women and children abuse in communities.
Clr Gungubele implored all councillors to lead the gospel of ‘non-violence against women and children’ from the front in their various constituencies.
“Let us all say no to the scourge of women and child abuse. Abuse in any form cannot be allowed to continue in our space. As leaders, we are expected to run with the right and positive messages. In actual fact, it is wrong for us to think that this campaign must only happen from November 25 to December 10. This is a campaign for 365 days a year, as crimes against our most vulnerable in society does not only happen in November or December. It happens throughout the year,” he said.
