Admin
10 Sep, 2019
Open Letter to President Ramaphosa: gender-based violence
Dear Mr President Recently, the country has been ravaged by news of gender based violence, women being abducted, raped and murdered. This is an everyday life for women in this country hence now we have the #AmInext movement, because honestly we are constantly stressing about who is going to be a victim of these atrocities ravaging our communities. The United Democratic Movement Women’s Organisation call on you Mr President, to speedily act on this, as women are under attack, the time for speeches and dialogues around these issues is over. We would like to see a government that implements change and not just talk about it. One of the things we would like to see is co-operation between the Departments or Ministries that fall under the cluster of peace and security. There seems to be no synergy and this is a contributing factor to the rise in violence in this country. If the SAPS manage to arrest the criminal; Justice will release him either on bail or on lack of evidence; if Justice sentence the criminal, Correctional Services will release him on parole. The UDEMWO call upon the government either amend the laws of this country as the law is currently favouring the criminals at the expense of the victims, or bring back the death penalty. Had it not been for Luyanda Botha, the late Uyinene Mrhwetyana’s murderer being released on parole from his previous convictions, the young girl would be still alive, pursuing her dreams. The question still remains, how did Luyanda end up working for a state owned enterprise with criminal records? Mr President, The Government continues to fail us! The Department of Women’s voice is not being heard, Minister Maite-Nkoana Mashabane is not vocal and not seen taking part in bringing about solution in the threatening situation, which is claiming lives of women especially in the past week. UDEMWO believes that when one tramples the other person’s rights, he must forfeit his rights. Enough with the lip service, Action must be taken NOW! Issued by Thandi Nontenja UDEMWO Secretary
Admin
02 Jun, 2017
UDEMWO calls for justice on child abusers
Statement issued by Thandi Nontenja – UDEMWO Secretary General As the country commemorates another week of Children’s Week, the United Democratic Movement Women’s Organisation (UDEMWO) calls for the hand of justice not to be lenient to children abusers and murderers. Children have become vulnerable in the hands of evil doers and they must pay for their actions. Since the beginning of the year, more than 19 children have been killed in the Western Cape province alone while the killings continue throughout the country. This includes the cannibalism that took place in Port St Johns. This gives a clear indication that we are living in a cruel society. Most of these children died in the hands of the people close to them or someone they know. It cannot be that we continue living in such a society. We want justice to be served and a lot more needs to be done in making sure that children are protected and they feel safe. Everyday a child dies horribly and perpetrators continue to live amongst the community where they committed crimes. This must stop. The government together with all the stakeholders involved must come forward and tell the community about its plan to curb the crimes. We believe that the community has a vital role to play in making sure that the children are protected. We must go back to basics where my neighbour’s child is my child. End
Admin
22 May, 2017
No bail for suspects
Statement issueb by Thandi Nontenja – UDEMWO Secretary General The United Democratic Movement Women’s Organisation (UDEMWO) welcomes the arrest of three men relating to the rape and horrendous murder of four women two weeks ago in Soweto. The arrest brings hope that the criminals will face the music for their action. As UDEMWO, we call for no bail for the culprits. We are also concerned that the police refused to attend to crime scenes citing their safety above of the citizens. The recent reports of the 13 year old teenager who went missing three weeks ago and the parents received no assistance from the police until the media intervened. Kabelo Matsatsi, the father reported the event but police officials refused to help. We condemn the misconduct by police. It is unacceptable. We are asking ourselves if the safety officials will not be able to attend to these crimes who will? How many more girls/women must die before something is done? We would also like to see synergy amongst the government departments i.e. South African Police Service, Department of Justice and the Department of Correctional Service as these departments play a vital role. They should complement one another in making sure criminals face and suffer the consequences of their acts. This is a national crisis; it must be attended to with urgency. End
