The Mayor of Mantsopa Local Municipality Cllr Mamsie Tsoene speaks against Gender-Based Violence.Mantsopa Local Municipality (MLM) once again condemns the unceremonious attack on innocent residents, femicide and gender-based violence.
news
Sept. 22, 2019
STAFF REPORTER
2 min read
MANTSOPA LOCAL MUNICIPALITY | PRESS STATEMENT
As the Mayor of Mantsopa municipality, I want to publicly say; "Enough is Enough!" The perpetrators must be brought to book and face the full might of the law.
On Thursday night a group of men went on an attacking spree by breaking into four households in Dipelaneng, Hobhouse and three women were brutally beaten and one was unfortunately raped. One of the victims claimed that the attacker's intention was to kill her as he aimed for her throat but she bravely fought back. I am told that three men who are believed to be Lesotho Nationals were arrested and are still in police custody. This attack says these criminals were living amongst the community and correctly knew the moves and lives of the four women, hence these calculated attacks.
A few months back the community of Hobhouse handed a Memorandum to the FS Provincial Commissioner, tabling violence related crimes happening around Hobhouse and they ranged from brutal killings of innocent community members, stock theft, illegal influx of foreign nationals and many other issues, but to date we have not seen any improvement.
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As the Municipality we are worried that the community of Dipelaneng is now very angry and we urge them not to take the law into their own hands. We promise that we shall not sit down and watch this situation where our women are being victimized and attacked. We would urge the law enforcement agencies to act swiftly on what is happening in Hobhouse as it is known that it is the easiest entry point for foreign nationals who are criminals.
What happened in Hobhouse is the last straw and we will not allow it to continue happening under our watch, we will not fight those criminals back as it will be distorted as xenophobic attacks but we shall ensure that action is lawfully taken against them.
As the municipality we want to join President Cyril Ramaphosa in his call for all South Africans to work together to stop the violence and the killing of women and children. I was thrilled when I learnt that the President tabled emergency measures to combat gender-based violence and ensure enhancement of the implementation of the outcomes of the 2018 Presidential summit of GBV.
As the Municipality we will not rest until every criminal in and around all of our Mantsopa towns is arrested. Those criminals must be aware that we are vigilantly watching over them and proper action will be taken.
wathint' abafazi wathint' imbokodo!
Mamsie Tsoene
Mantsopa Local Municipality (MLM)'s Mayor
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