26 Sep 2018

Minister of Nationality, Immigration and Gender Affairs, Ms Dorcas Makgato says she supports calls that killing one’s partner be treated as outright murder, and that the death penalty should result at the determination of the courts.

Minister Makgato concurred with suggestions by some female councillors at the Central District chambers who argued that the so-called passion killings must be treated as murder and that perpetrators should face the harshest penalties.

In fact, minister Makgato added her weight to the calls arguing that people who killed their partners should not be tried under manslaughter. She said courts would use some circumstantial claims to justify such killings as manslaughter instead of murder.

She said women movements were making calls to the effect that emotions such as ‘I was jealous’ must not be used as a defence where perpetrators would then walk away with lighter sentences.

The minister said many of the murderers would serve a few years in jail and upon release would kill again and in a short time resurface in the community again.

She said women have called for stiffer penalties against killers especially repeat offenders.

Ms Makgato argued that although men were victims of GBV too, statistics showed that women were the most abused.

“You must always remember your daughters and what it means to have a daughter in this country,” said Ms Makgato as she challenged by-law makers into devising ways of protecting the girl child at the wake of escalating rape, murder and general violence against the girl child.

Ms Makgato told councillors that having a girl child meant that one day parents may find themselves in harrowing pains of burying a beheaded child.

Ms Makgato said violence started small and developed with time. She argued that many incidents point to a slow and nurtured violent behaviour by men before a girl child gets murdered horribly.

“We have accepted that this issue needs a multi-sectorial approach and hence we must start a national dialogue on gender-based violence,” said minister Makgato who emphasised that women alone would not end gender-based violence.

The minister conceded that GBV had reached alarming proportions such that ‘we can’t just sweep this thing under the carpet,’ but face it ‘head-on.’

Ms Makgato said President Mokgweetsi Masisi had already voiced his concern over the recent acts of GBV, especially killings and challenged all to put a stop to the GBV scourge.

Gender mainstreaming was one remedy to the GBV scourge, said minister Makgato, who challenged faith-based organisations and government department about what they were doing to mainstream gender into their daily activities.

The minister said they were responsible for setting up the policy so that various sectors could play their role in gender mainstreaming under the coordination of her ministry.  Ends