Higher conviction rate for sexual offenders in Mpumalanga
A media statement by the FF Plus has said that Mpumalanga has a 6% improvement on its sexual conviction rate, making it the leading province in its convictions of sexual offences.
The Mpumalanga FF Plus provincial leader, Werner Weber, said the party welcomes the improvement.
“In the last financial year, 381 individuals appeared in the local courts on charges of sexual offences,” said Weber in the statement.
“A total of 309 of them were convicted and 72 were acquitted,” he said.
“The FF Plus wants to thank the special police units and courts that made it possible and a special thanks to Nelspruit’s Family Violence and Child Protection Unit (FCS) that was not only named the best in the province, but also fourth best in the country,” Weber said.
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He added, however, that the party wants to “implore the Mpumalanga government not to proceed with its plan to reduce the number of outreach programmes for gender-based violence”.
“Gender-based violence has risen by 8,5% from the previous financial year. Thus, now is not the time to become complacent and constant attempts must be made to eradicate the crime,” said Weber.
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“The FF Plus will keep an eye on the gender-based cases that come before the local courts, particularly the one relating to a high-ranking government official who was charged with sexually molested his own two daughters,” he said.
