Note to editors: Please find English and Afrikaans soundbites by Crezane Bosch MPL.
The brutal murder of a young traffic warden from Eersterust in Pretoria has left a family devastated and a community in mourning. She was allegedly stabbed to death by her partner on Saturday evening, at the very start of Women’s Month. This is a tragic reminder of the devastating toll that gender-based violence (GBV) and femicide continue to exact on women in Gauteng.
Even more devastating is the allegation that this tragedy may have been preventable.
It has been alleged that a previous gender-based violence-related case had been opened but was never finalised. If confirmed, this would point to a fatal failure by the SAPS and the criminal justice system to protect a woman who was clearly vulnerable and at risk. This is not merely a failure of process; it is a failure that has cost a woman her life.
For one family, a daughter will never come home. A child will grow up without a mother. A community has lost a public servant. This is the devastating human cost of the GBVF crisis in our province.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) picketed outside the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court this morning against the suspect’s bail application. We reiterate our call for the swift investigation and prosecution of all gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) cases, improved intervention in repeat domestic violence cases, and greater accountability within the South African Police Service (SAPS) when the system fails victims meant to protect them.
See photos here, here and here.
Every time warning signs are ignored, protection orders are not effectively enforced, cases are not properly investigated, or dangerous offenders are simply released, the state fails in its constitutional duty to protect the most vulnerable. The consequences are measured in lives lost.
The DA extends our deepest condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Taymin Platt. We commit to standing with her family in their search for justice and urge the National Prosecuting Authority to vigorously oppose any bail application, given the serious nature of the offence.
South Africa cannot continue to normalise a justice system where violent offenders appear to enjoy greater freedom than the women they terrorise. Every woman has the right to live free from fear. Every victim deserves justice. Every failure of the system must be met with accountability.
A DA-led Gauteng Provincial Government would push for a criminal justice system that catches violent offenders, secures their convictions, and cleans up the failures within SAPS and the justice system that continue to let dangerous perpetrators walk free.
Catch. Convict. Clean Up. Because South Africans deserve protection, not promises.