29 November 2013
The South African Communist Party (SACP) in the Western Cape Province has learnt with heartfelt shock, of yet another horrific rape that has claimed a 22 year old Namhla Nomnqa.
The brutal rape and murder of a 22 year old female in Gugulethu, whose body was found during the early hours of Saturday 23 November, clearly indicates the incessant cruelty of the perpetuators of rape. The body of Namhla Nomnqa was discovered naked caked in blood, her eyes gruesomely gauged and a clear indication of the endemic level of senseless criminal brutality infecting our society.
This heinous act of criminality occurred in the eve of the 16 Days of Activism Against Violence on Women and Children – a period when all South Africans should be united and intensify the struggle against any form of violence directed at woman and children.
This clearly reverses our political gains and reduces women to an abstract object of desire. We condemn this kind of thinking and call upon all communities to take their freedom and streets away from these criminals. In this regard, we urge our communities to revive street committees to liberate our communities from the fear of hardened and budding criminals.
As the SACP, we understand that we are the first line of defense of the working class struggles, as such we commit to lead this process in collaboration with our allies (ANC, COSATU and SANCO). We commit ourselves to safeguard members of communities, their streets and households.
As the SACP we believe no justification can ever render rape less deplorable. In the fight against the rape and maiming of the most vulnerable of our society, we urge the community of Western Cape in general and Gugulethu in particular to work collectively with the police to ensure that the perpetrators of this ghastly incident are promptly arrested.
We have firm confidence in our Criminal Justice System and we once more call upon the criminal justice community to exert all resources and attention necessary in resolving this crime. We therefore call for an urgent and thorough investigation for the effective prosecution of the perpetrators and to secure a conviction and a sentence fitting this egregious crime.
Issued by SACP Western Cape
Enquiries
Barry Mitchell James – Western Cape 2nd Deputy Provincial Secretary @ 076316065
Masonwabe Sokoyi – SACP Western Cape Media Liaison @ 0741772068