The Democratic Alliance Women’s Network (DAWN) in Limpopo condemns the rape and murder of a 13 year old girl and an attack on an elderly 71 year old woman in Joppie Village.
The suspect, John Makhubele (58), allegedly attacked the elderly woman with a sharp object, then went home and entered into his neighbour’s residence and proceeded to rape before fatally attack the 13 year old girl with the same object. He then hanged himself inside the neighbour’s house.
It is extremely sad and concerning that such a heinous and violent crime takes place right after the recent passing of three gender-based violence (GBV) related pieces of legislation in parliament as well the commemoration of International Children’s Day and Child protection week last week.
This incident further speaks to the vulnerability of women in our societies as this suspect was known to the victims of his atrocious crimes. The DA strongly condemns the continued attacks on women in Limpopo.
The Limpopo provincial government and the police have a responsibility to care and protect our most vulnerable members of society from GBV, sexual offences and also rid our societies of toxic masculinities that endanger women. They have so far failed to effectively deal with GBV and the high occurrence of sexual offences.
The DA remains committed to ending the abuse of our society’s most vulnerable and supporting those who have fallen victim to GBV and sexual offences.