Judgement of the matter was presented on the 18^th day of August 2017 within the Johannesburg High Court. The court heard oral evidence from witnesses and found that the statements made by John Qwelane amounted to hate speech, that they were hurtful and harmful in terms of the Equality Act. The court ordered that; complaint by Human Rights Commission succeeds with costs, that Qwelane is to apologize unconditionally to the LGBTI Community within 30 days and that Constitutional challenge made by him were dismissed with costs.   

Trial commenced on the 31st of July 2017 in Johannesburg High Court. Themba is charged with Murder, obstructing and defeating the ends of justice, violation of a corpse and possession of unlicensed firearm. He pleaded guilty on one count which is a violation of a corpse, the state did not accept his statement due to the fact that it was not in accordance with the facts to be proved by the state, however brought an application for the statement to be accepted as admission. He pleaded not guilty on other counts.

Siyabonga Lituka testified on behalf of the state as to what happened when he last saw Zestah. During cross examination the defence was trying to dispute the element of intention because it was the accused version that they had a fight with the deceased when they arrived at their place of residence and as a result of his anger he could not remember what happened and how he ended up chocking the deceased.

Zestah’s Sentence

Sentencing could not procced pending the probation officers report, case remanded to the 18^th of October 2017 for Sentence. 

AVON/ POWA Candle Light for survivors of abuse and all those women who have lost their lives due to abuse.
Thank you to everybody who attended in Polokwane and Thank you to AVON for the support.

Zapiro-rape-cartoon >

People Opposing Women Abuse (POWA) denounce the depiction of the Zapiro gang rape cartoon. The cartoon objectifies women’s bodies, disrespects women autonomy and minimises the trauma of rape on women.

The cartoon further brings fun to the act of rape irrespective of the pain that accompanies it. Sadly this happens at the time in our country where we are faced with alarming rape incidents, especially the recent rape incidences in Johannesburg by a white and silver Quantum. The courage of the survivors who spoke out about their experiences caused an outrage, however that outrage was not sustained. The timing of the cartoon is callous and reduces the trauma and experiences of women to a joke. This metaphor perpetuates and normalises rape and increases women’s vulnerability to rape in our county.

Whilst we support and defend the Bill of Rights to Freedom of Speech and Expression, these rights come with the reciprocal obligation to respect equality between men and women. In this light another metaphor should have definitely been chosen to depict the assault that Zuma is alleged to have committed against the state, rather than using a woman who is been raped. Zapiro should be sensitive to issues of rape which are rife. Moreover, holding down a woman manifests the reality of rape in South Africa, as women face gang rape on a daily basis.

The right to bodily autonomy is extremely disrespected in South Africa. Therefore to use a women’s body that is being raped as a metaphor in a country that is in turmoil and with the highest statistic of rape is irresponsible, insensitive and callous.

It is against this background that we demand a retraction of this cartoon, an apology and urge the Daily Maverick use their publication to educate and empower our society to treat women with respect in the light of our Bill of Rights.

For more information please contact:

Nhlanhla Mokwena
Executive Director
011 642 4345
082 785 2116

Jeanette Sera and Itumeleng Moloko
Counselling Managers
011 642 4345
083 280 2334 and 083 959 3762

Executive summary
POWA was formed in 1979 by a group of women volunteers to provide referral services and
shelter to women experiencing domestic violence. Over a period of 30 years, POWA has
continued to provide shelter for abused women and their children, and frontline services,
including counselling and legal services and support.
POWA was the first organisation to establish a shelter for abused women, in 1981. The
organisation also pioneered second-stage (or transitional) housing for women in 2009 in
Gauteng. The direct services delivery component of the organisation forms the basis of and
informs all advocacy interventions – at local, national and regional level. Since 1979 the
organisation has grown from a staff compliment of 18 to 37 staff members and eight volunteers
today.

More.Powa Annual Report APRIL 2015 – MARCH 2016

The People Opposing Women Abuse, the Tshwaranang Legal Advocacy are deeply concerned by the spates of rape perpetrated against women in the country.
As organisations working towards the eradication of violence against women and children in the country, we find it deeply concerning that the such atrocities have been committed against women and reported to the South African Police Services since 2016 and none of the perpetrators have been identified by the Police. These incidences of rape by white and silver quantum’s in the Johannesburg area are indication of the conflict environment that women are exposed to, we are not safe in our homes and nor in public spaces. So many us women rely on the public transport system as a mode of transportation …how then can women feel safe when a culture of impunity and misogyny is the dominant narrative in the country… Read more