Pretoria - Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi has called on the government to urgently review its strategy in dealing with gender-based violence (GBV) and lawlessness in the country.
Lesufi was speaking after his visit to the families of the two Lekgalong Primary School teachers who were killed at the beginning of this week.
The MEC said although he was working with different departments in dealing with the numerous cases, he did not want to move the responsibility of the government to communities as schools were part of the communities.
Taking of the times his department has had to visit families in recent weeks following violent attacks and killings, Lesufi said all of this spoke to an urgent need for the state to accept that the battle against lawlessness was getting out of control.
“We can’t just have lawlessness. There are so many things happening that we have to ask ourselves: ‘Do we still have the law? Do we still have law enforcement agencies?’
“I’m calling for a new strategy to deal with GBV, but most importantly to deal with lawlessness across our society as anyone can do as they wish and its getting out of control.”
Lesufi said there was a need for the government to strategically review its plans, approaches and the manner in which they were protecting families and society.
“We can't live in fear and feel that the protection we have from law enforcement is not enough. I am part of the state but there is a need for us collectively to accept that we need to win this battle because if we don’t we will lose our ourselves.”
Of his visit to the families of teachers Vumile Mkhize and Brenda Kgatitsoe, who were shot and killed by the “fiancé” of Mkhize, Lesufi offered his comfort to the families and pledged his department’s support.
Mandla Kgatitsoe said the family were hurt, especially his mother who was battling to stay strong for others.
“We are just hoping to get through this with prayers and being comforted by those coming to see us."
Kgatitsoe said his younger sister was supposed to have come home for the holidays the night she was killed.
He described her as an easy-going, loving person, who was always smiling and loved fashion.
“I started as a Sunday school teacher myself and I practically raised her and watched her go through her studies, get part-time jobs, finally get something stable, to recently even buying herself a car. We were expecting so much more from her."
Richard Buthelezi, uncle of Mkhize, said the family were having a hard time coming to terms with this death as they were still trying to recover from the death of her grandmother in December. He requested help from the department and said the family did not know how they would even be able to return her back home to KwaZulu-Natal.
Sibusiso Buthelezi, brother of Mkhize, said all the family knew the man in question had come to the family to ask for his sister’s hand in marriage.
He said there were problems with the man, with the family going to the extent of trying to get a protection order against him and blocking him on their phones.
Police said they had opened a case of murder, unlawful possession of a firearm and suicide after the bodies of the two women were discovered at their rented apartment in Ga-Rankuwa.
The body of an African man believed to be in his early fifties was also discovered at the scene, also with bullet wounds.
The police reported that the motive for the killing was not yet known.
Pretoria News