Just as we were commemorating 16 days of activism against women and children abuse, another woman’s rights were being violated by her own husband.
It is alleged that Matlala’s wife Lebogang Matlala, 35, had found the accused cheating on her. When she questioned him, he poured acid on her body.
She sustained 3rd degree burns and was admitted to hospital but later died.
The accused was granted bail but appeared at Garankuwa magistrate court on Friday June 7. There the case was postponed for the third time to August 15.
Numsa shows support
The police were surprised by the amount of support that Numsa members showed to the family of the deceased. The deceased was a Numsa member at Bosch in Rosslyn.
“We are here to give support to the family of Lebogang who died during 16 days of activism against women and children abuse,” said Numsa Hlanganani gender secretary, Peter More.
Numsa members were holding placards, singing, chanting and were wearing red t-shirts with messages like “Enough is Enough”, “Numsa says NO to violence against women”, “Talk to each other, don’t kill!”
“As the regional gender structure, we are here to convey a message to the community that Numsa is against this horrible abuse levelled against women”, said Numsa’s Rosemary Maboke.
During court proceedings, Numsa members continued to show support outside the court by singing and dancing.
“Though we are a bit disappointed by the court for postponing this case because it has been dragging for some time, let’s continue protesting against abuse to show the community that we mean business.
The main purpose of this small protest is to convey a message to the community that Numsa is serious about these issues,” said Rosemary Maboke.
Gender issue
This court case must not be seen as a regional issue only; this is a national issue which needs support from all Numsa gender structures and even the community at large.
“We must not be silent on issues which affect us on a daily basis, we must break this silence, even our 2nd deputy President, Christine said we must not be silent on issues affecting us”, said Rosemary.
Let’s go out there and convey our message in numbers.
Numsa lives! Numsa cares! Numsa is against any form of abuse.
Aluta!