It is gratifying to come across a public servant who goes the extra mile to make South Africa a better, safer place.
One such is Advocate Retha Meintjes, a senior state prosecutor, who is about to retire.
She has established for herself a reputation as a fierce fighter for the rights, particularly, of abused women and children. In court, she helped put behind bars one of South Africa’s worst serial killers, Moses Sithole, as well as the man known as the “Modimolle Monster”, rapist Johan Kotze – not to mention sundry other lowlife sexual predators.
Meintjes has been insulted and even threatened – but did not allow that to get in the way of doing her job.
She continued with trials despite a broken ankle, wearing an eye patch after acid was thrown at her and when she was in an advanced state of pregnancy.
Her motivation was seeing justice done – often for voiceless victims.
And she did so selflessly.
The country owes Meintjes a heartfelt thank you.
We hope others will follow her, because South Africans will never be able to stand together as a nation until the scourge of sexual violence is eliminated.
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