Staff Reporter
Free State Premier Sisi Ntombela has expressed concern at the killing of women and children during the national lockdown period, saying more measures are needed to protect the vulnerable.
Mmakantoro Mofokeng, 37, and her two sons, Khothatso, nine, and Karabo, two, were found killed last Sunday in their house in Zamdela township near Sasolburg.
The woman’s husband, who is also the father to the slain children, has become a person of interest to the matter as he has not been seen since the killing was discovered in the early hours of the morning.
“Today the Free State province is reeling from the brutal murder of Mmakantoro Mofokeng and her two children . . .” said a statement released following Ntombela’s visit to the family to give her condolences on Saturday.
South Africa had been grappling with the scourge of violence against women and children long before the coronavirus lockdown was imposed and there have been concerns that the figures might rise as families have been confined to their homes as part of measures to stop the spread of COVID-19.
Latest figures have however indicated a marked drop in cases, with some analysts attributing this to the ban of alcohol sales during the lockdown.
Police statistics have in the past indicated that a woman is killed every three hours in South Africa — a rate five times the world average.
According to the police, half the women are murdered by men with whom they had a close relationship.
Official statistics have also suggested that more than 110 rapes are reported to the police per day and it has been feared the stay-at-home measures could make things worse for women stuck in abusive relationships.
“These worrisome statistics of gender-based violence come at a time when the country and the global community are grappling with the deadly COVID-19 pandemic,” the premier’s statement added.
Ntombela, who was accompanied by Public Works Infrastructure and Human Settlements MEC Motshidisi Koloi, then embarked on an outreach programme in various informal settlements around Zamdela where she handed more than 600 sanitisers and food vouchers to the poor.
The premier also met with religious leaders and councillors from different political parties and urged everyone to work together as the country fights to contain COVID-19.
