Marchers take a stand against abuse
Women, clergy and supporters hand memorandum to Empangeni Judge.
CRIES of ‘phansi ngokudlwengulwa komama phansi (down with women rape, down) reverberated through the streets of Empangeni yesterday.
Women councillors, clergy and members of the public marched to Empangeni Magistrate’s Court to hand over a memorandum of grievances against women, children and the elderly abuse.
uThungulu District Municipality Speaker Alice Mthembu said mothers must stand up, condemn violence and report suck attacks.
‘Children are nowadays afraid of their own fathers, their uncles and their grandfathers, and this has to be stopped,’ Mthembu said.
Addressing the marchers, uThungulu District Mayor Thembeka Mchunu said recent statistics in uThungulu revealed the rate of rape of children, women and the elderly is growing alarmingly.
‘We demand rapists and abusers must not be given bail until they are sentenced. We also demand they must be given harsh sentences if found guilty, which must be more than five years.
‘We want to reiterate that we don’t want these criminals in our society. They must rot in prison,’ said Mchunu.
Mchunu further condemned the production of child pornography, child trafficking, child labour, those who compel girls into forced marriages and child neglect.
Accepting the memorandum of grievances, Empangeni Magistrate’s Court Judge AB Ntshangase said, ‘As the justice system we depend on witnesses, therefore evidence is vital for a thorough conviction on all cases we deal with.’
