Behold the creepy art of stalking

Sure, we can talk about the government that insists our electricity woes are blamed on Apartheid (even though we are 21 years down the line) and, therefore, bad management cannot be blamed for our state of darkness.

I wonder how Apartheid is blamed for the supposed “human error” that led to one of the units at Koeberg suddenly shutting down – removing 900 megawatts from the power grid for a week.

Workers were erecting scaffolding to prepare for maintenance planned for this week and accidentally touched the main generator transformer at Unit 1 of the Koeberg power station. That has nothing to do with Apartheid – just simple incompetence Mr President.

We can talk about the government’s insistence that the country remains a safe haven for foreign dignitaries, even though looting, crime (now in broad daylight at shopping centres), disorder and lawlessness are an eyesore, just like the EFF red overalls in Parliament.

Regarding Parliament, do we really want to venture down that road of loonacy, where those who are supposedly representing our affairs have stooped to new lows of bickering, squabbling and finger-pointing?

And yes, we can talk about President Zuma threatening to dump the country into full scale chaos with promises of land expropriation this year.

Heard about that story? Our beloved President has described the “willing buyer, willing seller” model of land reform as “unsuccessful”, thus, land expropriation will be on the cards for South Africa this year.

We will, of course, not be fooled by the promises that it will carried out “in line with the constitution”. Anyone packing their bags yet?

But let us put all that negativity aside, because it is beyond a joke, just like reality TV. There is, however, something else I want to touch on – the creepy world of stalking (see also article on stalking).

Stalking, unlike other ”more prominent” crimes hardly gets much attention, which I find rather unsettling, just like the stalker who thinks it is not creepy to follow someone around like a fly on a buffalo.

On our rather strange TV channels (let us be honest, a lot of stuff deemed to be entertainment is just weird), we encounter, especially in America, real-life stories of stalkers and the fear they instil in their unsuspecting victims.

They are the proverbial boogie man in the closet and the moving shadow in the dark.

I have always thought the song by Police – Every Breath You Take – should be the anthem for stalkers: Every single day, Every word you say, Every game you play, Every night you stay, I’ll be watching you. Oh can’t you see, You belong to me? How my poor heart aches with every step you take. Creepy, I know.

On overseas crime shows, stalking is often a hot topic, while the TV series Stalker is a stark reminder that stalking is a reality.

But what about stalking in South Africa? If stalking is a reality, why don’t we hear about it?

Yearly this country is shocked to its core by daunting crime stats, which are most likely as inaccurate as Eskom’s load shedding schedule, but never will you read about stalking.

Surely somewhere, someone is being harassed by a stalker? Is it taboo to talk about stalking?

The Protection from Harassment Act came into effect in April 2013, to provide a quick, easy and affordable remedy in the form of a protection order for incidences of stalking.

This Act was a necessity following a couple of cases of stalking that made the media years ago, such as the one woman in Cape Town who suffered at the hands of a stalker who phoned her up to 150 times a day.

There was also the case of former journalist Shadi Rapitso, who was murdered by a stalker.

Rapitso’s killer, Patric Malgas, was sentenced to an effective 10-year jail term in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court earlier this month.

If an Act was passed to deal with stalking, then this crime is surely worthy of our attention, as it is a reality in our Rainbow Nation of supposed subtle corruption.

Judging by the complexity of stalking as portrayed in factual crime programmes, let us just hope that our police (when not being in possession of stolen goods) are able to deal with such a crime. Somehow I remain sceptical.

The South Africa Law Commission stated that “although stalking is often associated with domestic violence, it is a problem that is much broader than the domestic sphere”.

The commission also noted that a single prototype of stalker does not seem to exist, and that the act of stalking is gender neutral – with equally many men and women likely to either stalk or be stalked. At least it seems stalking is not sexist!

I am just worried about Eskom’s inability, after two decades of democracy, to provide power and that the greater pending darkness might just afford the perfect cover for more stalkers to creep around in the shadows (or does this also take place in broad daylight) to harass someone.

I can just imagine the stalker trying to understand the load shedding schedule, to plan his crime accordingly. Good luck on such endeavours.

So take time to read the article on stalking (even though it is beyond me who has the time to stalk anyone in our hectic world), and if anyone wants to share their story of being stalked, let the Advertiser know.

At least we are not yet at that stage of loonacy where guards are blamed when the President trips on the red carpet, as in the case of Mugabe.

But don’t pat yourself on the shoulder just yet, because we are reaching Banana Republic status quicker than the power grid will recover.