The disturbing trend of femicide will be in the spotlight on 27 June when a suspect charged with kidnapping his ex-girlfriend will appear for his bail application at the Alex Magistrates’ Court.
The victim died at Baragwanath Hospital from burn wounds sustained in the suspect’s burnt vehicle. The incident occurred on 17 May in the Vereeniging area. The victim was from Cosmo City, and the suspect is said to be from Alex. He also sustained burn wounds on the head and hand and was treated at Milpark Clinic.
It is alleged that the suspect found the victim in her vehicle at a garage in Rivonia, blocked her car and forced her into his own before driving off with her.
Read: Fake police robbers remanded in custody by the Alex Magistrate’s Court
Police investigators found his vehicle burnt in the Vereeniging area.
The victim was said to have been taken to Naledi Clinic and transferred to Baragwanath where she died days later of burn wounds. The suspect is said to have claimed that the vehicle was ignited by leaking petrol.
The incident follows the murder of Karabo Mokoena, currently in national headlines, involving her estranged boyfriend, Sandile Mantsoe, who is charged with burning and concealing her body.
Another suspect is appearing in the Alex Magistrates’ Court charged with killing and burning a one-night stand in a bin at his Sandton workplace. He is said to want to plead guilty and will reappear in court on 7 July.
There also are several recent reports of women who have been kidnapped, sexually abused and killed in taxis, prompting the national outcry on femicide.