One-year sentence for assault on woman is a slap on the wrist – ANCWL

The African National Congress Women’s League (ANCWL) and its Young Women’s Desk (YWD) said in a statement it was disappointed with the sentence handed down to Thabang Setona for assaulting 52-year-old Olivia Mokete outside Luthuli House in 2018 during a BLF march.

This comes after Setona, an ANC branch secretary, was found guilty of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm (GBH) and handed a 12-month suspended sentence.

The leagues said that in passing sentence, the presiding officer was supposed to consider the crime, the offender, and the interests of society.

This, they said, was important in light of the police statistics of 2017/2018 which recorded around 53,263 cases of assault GBH on women.

“This means around 145 women become victims of assault GBH daily from the likes Thabang. Gender-based violence is a national crisis in South Africa and perpetrators must face the full might of the law,” the statement reads.

The leagues said that though they respected the independence of the judiciary, they were of the view that the crime and the interest of society were not fully considered by the presiding officer when handing over judgment.

“The 12 months sentence is a slap on the wrist. The courts must not show any mercy when sentencing those convicted of crimes against women and children.”

The ANCWL YWD reiterated its disappointment with the sentence.

“In support of Ms Mokete and all victims of gender-based violence, the ANCWL YWD calls on all institutions charged with Constitutional mandate to promote respect to gender equality and fight for human rights to consider appealing the sentence.”

(Compiled by Makhosandile Zulu)

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