MALAIKA MAHLATSI | Sex workers are worthy of protection, justice

There is an important trial taking place in SA that is not receiving enough coverage. The trial of Sifiso Mkhwanazi, who is accused of raping and killing sex workers, is currently underway in the Johannesburg high court.

Back in October 2022, the bodies of six women were found in the building used by a panel-beating business in Selby, Johannesburg. Initially, a body was discovered by a caretaker, who subsequently informed police and the business owner, the accused’s father.

The father, despite his strong suspicions that his son was the perpetrator, assisted law enforcement. Five more bodies would later be found at various locations within premises.

The state has alleged that between April and October 2022, Mkhwanazi picked up the sex workers from the Johannesburg CBD and took them to the premises where he is alleged to have raped and murdered them.

Although Mkhwanazi has admitted to murdering the six women, concealing their bodies and robbing at least one of them, he has adamantly denied the charge of rape, arguing that he had consensual sex with all the women.

According to him, he killed all of them in the heat of the moment when they reneged on their financial agreements for sexual services by demanding more money. He has not explained why, if the sex was consensual, he was in possession of a firearm at the time of the alleged crimes.

The case of Mkhwanazi is one of the most important cases in our country’s criminal history. He was active for only six months, meaning that he has an average kill rate of one woman per month. Even by the standards of some of the most notorious serial killers in history, this is astounding. But an even more significant reason why this case is crucial is that it takes place at a time when SA is battling a gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) epidemic that is tearing the country asunder.

According to the police, by mid-2023, there were 1,188 women and children murdered in our country. Between July and September of the same year, 10,516 rapes were reported. These are the highest figures of violence against women in a country not in conflict globally. Yet, despite the seriousness of GBVF in the country, a case that shines the brightest spotlight on the crisis is not receiving the coverage that it should.

I’m subscribed to several newspapers online and there’s a blackout on this story from most of them. It’s very clear that the reason for this is the occupation of the victims involved. The fact that Mkhwanazi’s victims were sex workers has shaped the response to this case.

Sex workers are not regarded as innocent victims.There’s a sense that they put themselves in danger by being involved in this line of work that is characterised by clandestine transactions. In our society with its selective morality, there’s an undertone of judgment reserved for sex workers.

They’re deemed as immoral rather than as women who are worthy of the same protections that are guaranteed for all other women. And sex workers are worthy of these protections. They’re worthy of justice because their lives have value. I’m glad that Sowetan has been consistent in reporting on this story from the very beginning, and is covering this case as it unfolds. This communicates the important message that the sex workers’ lives matter. It affirms their worth as women, children, sisters, mothers, partners and friends.

More than this, it humanises them, reminding us that they were more than just their profession and circumstances. They too, like the rest of us, were human beings. And they deserve justice.