POLOKWANE – Recent incidents of violence against women and children in Limpopo are a cause for concern, said the DA.
In one incident, a 48- year-old man from Thohoyandou stabbed his wife and chopped off her hand with a panga during a lovers’ tiff on Sunday. She later succumbed to her injuries.
In another incident, a three-year-old toddler was brutally murdered in Eldorado village in Senwabarwana on Monday and his genitals were mutilated.
“The 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children campaign will start on 25 November and we are not close to achieving its aims,” said Katlego Suzan Phala, DA spokesperson for women, children, youth and disability.
“It is clear that vigilantism is creeping into our societies and we call on the police commissioner Lt Genl Fannie Masemola to resource and capacitate police stations and to prioritise crimes against women and children to re-establish trust iin our men in blue in rural areas.”
Phala said the DA had been calling for specialised rural safety units within SAPS for years and hoped that their proposal would be taken seriously after these tragic deaths.
“The DA extends our deepest condolences to both families and we will embark on a massive door-to-door campaign in both villages and surrounding areas in order to encourage communities to break the silence of any kind of abuse against women and children.”
