Swift justice for Uyinene gratifying
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Your death will not be in vain!
This is part of a heart-rending statement issued by Uyinene Mrwetyana's family in the Cape Town High Court during the sentencing of the University of Cape Town student's rapist and murderer, Luyanda Botha, on Friday.
We fully agree with the family that Uyinene's death will not be futile. The family correctly say that Uyinene's death will not be futile as they look beyond their loss as her death awakened a movement in SA and the world over.
Her brutal murder, which grabbed the attention of countries beyond our shores, reignited the fight against gender-based violence and femicide that have crippled SA.
The high court handed Botha three life sentences for rape and murder and five years for defeating the ends of justice.
We can't imagine what the poor Mrwetyana family went through when Botha, in a four-page admission read by his counsel in court, detailed how he raped and killed Uyinene before he dumped her body elsewhere and later burnt it.
This heavy sentence should serve as a deterrent to would-be rapists and murders like Botha.
It should also be seen as a testament that our justice system will not hesitate to deal decisively with heartless people like Botha.
The judiciary system deserves our kudos for acting like greased lightning in sentencing Botha.
We follow Uyinene Mrwetyana's final steps on August 24 2019 when she was brutally murdered in a Cape Town post office and then disposed of in a hole next to a railway track.
There's no need for delaying this case after Botha confessed to raping and killing Uyinene and we hope other cases will be dealt with with the urgency they deserve.
This will give affected families closure as there's nothing more distressing for them than to come face to face with the perpetrators every time they appear in court.
Police who handled the case should also be commended for the speed with which they brought Botha to book.
We only hope that their counterparts elsewhere, who are notorious for not doing enough to crack cases, draw inspiration from the detectives who handled Botha's case.
Cases should be prioritised irrespective of their status. A crime is a crime and it will remain such irrespective of who committed it.
To Botha, we say rot in jail, it's where you belong. SA is much safer without you and your ilk.