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Activists demand speedy end to murder case

HEALTH and human rights activists have demanded that the next court date for the killers of lesbian Zoliswa Nkonyana be the last one.

According to the activists, who include members of the Treatment Action Campaign, Free Gender and Social Justice Coalition, the trial has been delayed more than 27 times since Nkonyana's murder four years ago.

The case will be heard again on October 14.

Nkonyana, who lived in Khayelitsha, was stabbed to death "because she was a lesbian". According to reports she was attacked when she allegedly refused to use the men's toilet at a Khayelitsha shebeen. Nine men were arrested in connection with the crime.

TAC spokesperson Amelia Mfiki claimed there were numerous instances of other unsolved crimes in the area.

"In some cases the perpetrators have been freed because dockets were lost. In Nkonyana's case the police forgot to lock the holding cells, leading to at least four of the murder accused fleeing," Mfiki said.

The four men were subsequently rearrested and a member of the police force was charged with aiding and abetting their escape.

Gavin Silber of the Social Justice Coalition blamed a lack of capacity for the hold-ups in solving the crime.

"We know that Zoliswa's case is not an isolated incident. Not all those working in the justice system are corrupt. The system is under-resourced and overburdened," he said.

Nthosh Khunjuzwa, a local, said: "We feel sad as a community because this case has been dragging on since 2006. Though Zoliswa was a lesbian, she was also human and had the right to do whatever she wanted with her life.

"We just want the perpetrators to be punished accordingly," Khunjuzwa said.

The activists marched to the Western Cape provincial legislature to voice their dissatisfaction over crimes in their areas not being solved. They handed a memorandum to the office of MEC for community safety Albert Fritz.

Accepting the memorandum on behalf of Fritz, Gilbert Lawrence assured the activists that they would get a response from Fritz and his department next Thursday.

Funeka Soldaat, spokesperson for Free Gender, said: "If the next court hearing does not commence as expected, we will make things uncomfortable for the justice system."

Some of the demands the group called for included:

  • Visible policing throughout the townships and informal settlements;
  • Victims and their families should be notified regularly about details of their cases and should have reasonable access to investigating officers; and
  • An investigation into Nkonyana's case, in particular the granting of bail to suspects charged with schedule 5 and-or schedule 6 crimes.

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