Poor work leads to injustice
2011-12-10 21:45
Johannesburg - A social worker whose "poor" report was a motivation for the sentencing of a Soweto man who mutilated and murdered his partner earlier this month has been reported to authorities, Minister for Women Lulu Xingwana said on Saturday.
"We believe that this sentence would have been higher had the social worker responsible for this case not submitted a very poor report as a motivation for sentencing," said Xingwana. "We have reported the conduct of this social worker as we need to ensure that our officials do not undermine endeavours to achieve justice for victims of crime."
She was speaking at a closing event for the 16 Days of Activism for non-violence against women and children campaign in Ermelo in Mpumalanga. Last week, Wonder Nkosi was sentenced to 15 years by the Protea Magistrate's Court for murdering his partner Moji Tsekedi.
She was the daughter of Corinthians Apostolic Church Archbishop Nchime Tsekedi.
Xingwana said courts were able to hand down heavy sentences when all officials worked diligently and were supported by the community.
She made an example with the outcome 10-year-old Masego Kgomo's case, a girl from Soshanguve who had her womb and other body parts removed on December 31, 2009.
A man convicted of her murder was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Pretoria High Court on November 28.
Xingwana said she remained concerned that the people who paid money to get Masego’s organs for muti purposes were still not captured and remain a danger to society.
"We met with traditional healers who are committed to work with government to stop these crimes.
"They say their work is to heal not to kill and, therefore, these atrocities cannot be committed in their name."
Think forward
Speaking at the same event, Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe said the number of crimes against vulnerable groups, especially children under the age of 15, was growing while the prevalence of other crimes was decreasing.
"We are also concerned at the increasing number of incidents and reported cases of violence perpetrated against women and girls in the name of the so-called corrective rape, an illusion based on male chauvinism," he said.
Motlanthe stressed the importance of addressing the negative guises of tradition that sought to pre-determine the inferior social standing of women.
"While we must preserve and protect our traditions, we must do so with the forward thinking of the type of society we live in today and what we want it to be in the future," he said.
"The fight against violence and changing stereotypes is also one of the most important pillars in our fight against the spread of HIV and Aids for women who cannot negotiate safe sex."
- SAPA