Call to the South African Government to declare "Corrective Rape" a Hate-Crime
- by: Luleki Sizwe
- recipient: Minister Jeffrey Thamsanqa Radebe, MP Minister Of Justice, South Africa
The heinous crime of "Corrective Rape" is prolific in South Africa, especially in the "townships". Corrective Rape is a terminology used wherein a male rapes a lesbian with the aim of turning her heterosexual! Most of the victims are also tortured, grievously assaulted and sometimes murdered!
The SA Government and the SA Justice System is failing these victims of Corrective Rape by letting the perpetrators out on ridiculously low bail, and taking literally years to bring the court-cases to a conclusion. In the meantime the victims have to live with seeing their rapists every day, being taunted and threatened by them, as are those who help the victims!
We call on the SA Government to declare "Corrective Rape" a Hate-Crime that is punishable by the harshest sentences!
Minister Jeffrey Thamsanqa Radebe,
MP Minister Of Justice,
South Africa
Pretoria: Private Bag X276,
PRETORIA,
0001
E-mail: Ministry@justice.gov.za
Dear Sir, Hon Minister of Justice Radebe,
Millicent Gaika was forcibly raped, beaten up and strangled for five hours purely because she is a lesbian, by Andile Ngoza, in order to "turn her straight"
Millicent explained that she and her friends were walking home after visiting another friend. The man, whom she said she had known for a number of years and who had never objected to her sexuality before, asked her for a cigarette. She stayed to smoke with him, and followed him into his room when he refused to pass the cigarette to her.
According to her he then locked the door and started hitting her while she tried to fight back.
"He pulled off my clothes and pushed me down on the bed. He was holding me down, strangling me with the wire and pushing his hands hard onto my neck." She added that he threatened to kill her and throw her body in the river. "I thought I was gonna die"
He kept saying to her, "I know you are a lesbian. You are not a man. You think you are, but I am going to show you are a woman. I'm gonna make you pregnant you are going to carry a baby for me."
Millie went on to say "I really hate myself right now ! Andile has killed me big time. I really hate men, honestly! Why me, why me?"
Mr Minister, since that time the court-case has been postponed numerous times, and Andile is out on bail, roaming the same streets where Millie lives, which has forced her to go into hiding - the courtcase has again been postponed to February 2011.
On 16 November, 2010 I received a phone call from a visibly shaken Ndumie Funda, the founder and mainstay of Luleki Sizwe, saying that she had just had a run-in with Andile Ngcoza,the man who raped Millicent Gaika! He is forbidden to enter Gugulethu as part of his bail conditions, and has constantly broken those conditions, threatening Ndumie various times ~ this time Ndumie called the SAP and he was arrested! Here are Ndumie's own words:
"Hi All
Today its one of the unforgettable day in my life it was round about 11am in the morning ,i was walking with my partner in Gugulethu mall .My car was parked at the Campwell hardware so as we where near the car my partner noticed that someone was so looking at me with those you know angry eyes,he came closer so i press the mobilizer .Andile Ngcoza came to me straight he was looking at me and he went to passenger's sit were my partner was sitting also steering at her the after her he was looking at my car number plate,I then quickly called the police and the investigating officer .they arrived immediately and he got arrested ,We went drove to the Gugulethu were the investigating officer together with the police to our statement .It was said that he was not supposed to set his feet in Gugulethu so there he violated his bail conditions and his back in jail."
Andile was back on the streets within a day or two - on R60 bail!!
Since his release he has asked family and friends to attack Ndumie Funda, he has constantly harassed her and made threats against her life, and against her partner! This has forced Ndumie to go into hiding, which in turn had a devastating effect on the women she is helping...another rape victim, Bulelwa, committed suicide last week because she could get no help, and Ndumie was in fear for her life so could not help her either, and she is about the only help most of these young women have!
Sir, we have just entered the period of "16 Days of Activism against Woman & Child Abuse" with much fanfare about what the government is going to do, yet the same government is doing nothing about corrective rape, of which it is aware!
We see much ado in the press about who called who what, and who want apologies for whatfrom whom; who sings what songs, etc etc. but NOTHING about the heinous crime of Corrective Rape!
According to the South African Constitution, everyone has the same rights, yet the Government is not protecting lesbian women before they are raped by publicly taking a stance against Corrective Rape, and the Justice System is failing the victims of Corrective Rape after, by not offering them protection, by allowing these violent criminals out on ridiculously low amounts of bail, by refusing the friends, family or Press into the court-room during the trial...
Sir, we the undersigned entreat you on bended knees to:
1) Please take up our cause, and to publicly decry this thing called corrective rape, and to lobby for it to be classified as a hate-crime, with only the harshest of sentences.
2) Investigate as to why Andile Ncoza was let out on bail, after being caught in the act and held by neighbours until the police arrived.
3) Investigate as to why he was let out on R60 bail again, after contravening his conditions of bail and threatening Millicent Gaika, her family, and Ndumie Funda and her partner
4) Please respond urgently, regarding the above, detailing what is going to be done to stop this heinous crime and to protect the victims of it and those that assist them.
Thank you very much for taking the time to read this petition.
Sign PetitionSign PetitionMP Minister Of Justice,
South Africa
Pretoria: Private Bag X276,
PRETORIA,
0001
E-mail: Ministry@justice.gov.za
Dear Sir, Hon Minister of Justice Radebe,
Millicent Gaika was forcibly raped, beaten up and strangled for five hours purely because she is a lesbian, by Andile Ngoza, in order to "turn her straight"
Millicent explained that she and her friends were walking home after visiting another friend. The man, whom she said she had known for a number of years and who had never objected to her sexuality before, asked her for a cigarette. She stayed to smoke with him, and followed him into his room when he refused to pass the cigarette to her.
According to her he then locked the door and started hitting her while she tried to fight back.
"He pulled off my clothes and pushed me down on the bed. He was holding me down, strangling me with the wire and pushing his hands hard onto my neck." She added that he threatened to kill her and throw her body in the river. "I thought I was gonna die"
He kept saying to her, "I know you are a lesbian. You are not a man. You think you are, but I am going to show you are a woman. I'm gonna make you pregnant you are going to carry a baby for me."
Millie went on to say "I really hate myself right now ! Andile has killed me big time. I really hate men, honestly! Why me, why me?"
Mr Minister, since that time the court-case has been postponed numerous times, and Andile is out on bail, roaming the same streets where Millie lives, which has forced her to go into hiding - the courtcase has again been postponed to February 2011.
On 16 November, 2010 I received a phone call from a visibly shaken Ndumie Funda, the founder and mainstay of Luleki Sizwe, saying that she had just had a run-in with Andile Ngcoza,the man who raped Millicent Gaika! He is forbidden to enter Gugulethu as part of his bail conditions, and has constantly broken those conditions, threatening Ndumie various times ~ this time Ndumie called the SAP and he was arrested! Here are Ndumie's own words:
"Hi All
Today its one of the unforgettable day in my life it was round about 11am in the morning ,i was walking with my partner in Gugulethu mall .My car was parked at the Campwell hardware so as we where near the car my partner noticed that someone was so looking at me with those you know angry eyes,he came closer so i press the mobilizer .Andile Ngcoza came to me straight he was looking at me and he went to passenger's sit were my partner was sitting also steering at her the after her he was looking at my car number plate,I then quickly called the police and the investigating officer .they arrived immediately and he got arrested ,We went drove to the Gugulethu were the investigating officer together with the police to our statement .It was said that he was not supposed to set his feet in Gugulethu so there he violated his bail conditions and his back in jail."
Andile was back on the streets within a day or two - on R60 bail!!
Since his release he has asked family and friends to attack Ndumie Funda, he has constantly harassed her and made threats against her life, and against her partner! This has forced Ndumie to go into hiding, which in turn had a devastating effect on the women she is helping...another rape victim, Bulelwa, committed suicide last week because she could get no help, and Ndumie was in fear for her life so could not help her either, and she is about the only help most of these young women have!
Sir, we have just entered the period of "16 Days of Activism against Woman & Child Abuse" with much fanfare about what the government is going to do, yet the same government is doing nothing about corrective rape, of which it is aware!
We see much ado in the press about who called who what, and who want apologies for whatfrom whom; who sings what songs, etc etc. but NOTHING about the heinous crime of Corrective Rape!
According to the South African Constitution, everyone has the same rights, yet the Government is not protecting lesbian women before they are raped by publicly taking a stance against Corrective Rape, and the Justice System is failing the victims of Corrective Rape after, by not offering them protection, by allowing these violent criminals out on ridiculously low amounts of bail, by refusing the friends, family or Press into the court-room during the trial...
Sir, we the undersigned entreat you on bended knees to:
1) Please take up our cause, and to publicly decry this thing called corrective rape, and to lobby for it to be classified as a hate-crime, with only the harshest of sentences.
2) Investigate as to why Andile Ncoza was let out on bail, after being caught in the act and held by neighbours until the police arrived.
3) Investigate as to why he was let out on R60 bail again, after contravening his conditions of bail and threatening Millicent Gaika, her family, and Ndumie Funda and her partner
4) Please respond urgently, regarding the above, detailing what is going to be done to stop this heinous crime and to protect the victims of it and those that assist them.
Thank you very much for taking the time to read this petition.
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