COSATU applauds verdict and sentence in ukuthwala case

The Congress of South African Trade Unions applauds Wynberg Regional Court Magistrate, Daleen Greyvensteyn, for imposing a sentence of 22 years in jail for Mvumeleni Jezile, after finding him guilty of kidnapping a 14-year-old girl in 2010 and forcefully marrying, raping and assaulting her.

In particular, COSATU condemns the practice of ‘ukuthwala', which seeks to legitimise the abduction and rape of young girls on the grounds of tradition and culture. It is a practice which has no place in a constitutional, non-sexist democracy. COSATU fully agrees with Minister Edna Molewa, that "the days of abducting innocent young girls and turning them into wives by force were over... Gone are the days when a woman had no say in the home and in society. Women are not objects to be used in violent ways, but are humans to be respected and loved."

As the ANC Women's league say in their statement welcoming the verdict, "It is not just physical abuse and rape that must be condemned in the strongest possible terms; it is also any act carried out against anybody's will and against the law as well as our constitution in this country."

COSATU echoes the league's hope and demand that "the successful conviction and sentencing of Jezile should serve as a lesson to all other men in our society today who refuse to acknowledge that women's rights are human rights... Women in this country have come a long way in fighting for dignity and respect and it should not be undone by some who feel they rule the world."

The victims of ukuthwala are teenage girls mainly from poor, rural communities who often have no means to defend themselves. As ANCWL President, Angie Motshekga, says: "We hope that this successful conviction and sentencing of this case will encourage other young women who may have fallen victim to such crimes to report them to police with the confidence that the justice system will protect them from these predators."

It is essential for society as a whole to alert the police and the prosecuting authority to cases of abduction, rape and human trafficking and give the girls confidence to fight for their freedom and harsh punishment for their abductors.

The federation said in its statement for the 2013 16 Days of Activism: "COSATU urges its members and all caring individuals to not turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to incidents of violence against women and children. These incidents include beatings of women; rape and murder of children; rapes of women; child molestation, pornography and incest; sexual harassment in the workplace; brutal killings of women by their intimate partners as well as the harassment, victimization in the community and in the workplace, intimidation, rapes and brutal slaying of lesbian women."

We must add ukuthwala to that list of practices for which there must be zero-tolerance.

Statement issued by Patrick Craven, COSATU national spokesperson, February 17 2014

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