Umm Muhammed Umar

With gender-based violence continuing on its destructive path in South Africa, there is some peace for the South African Human Rights Commissioner, after the man accused of his daughter’s rape and murder was found guilty by the Cape High Court. Abraham Mtsweni – a Pastor’s son, was found guilty of raping and killing his girlfriend, Sesi Sibanyoni, inside her flat in Maitland, Cape Town in July 2019. Her father, Johannes Sibonyoni, spoke to Radio Islam.

Sibonyoni said that they welcomed the judgment. He said it took the family towards closure of a long trial. Sibonyoni said, “at the moment we are close to completion of this trial because the judge intimated that he would like to impose or deliver the sentence during this term, that ends on the 20th of June. So as a family, we feel a little bit relieved for the long road that we have been walking since the incident happened – not only the pain, but also the financial implication that we have incurred due to the actions that were done by Abraham Mtsweni.

Sibonyoni said that the family hoped that the judge would pass the two sentences separately – one for the crime of rape, and the other for the crime of murder, “so that it must send a message out there, be a deterrent to those who have committed these types of crimes, and some who might have committed it, and they have never been arrested and are still on the run, and anyone who may think of committing it in the future, never to do it……..(due to) a hefty sentence.

Meanwhile, the girlfriend of a parolee was arrested in connection with the disappearance of a six-year-old girl found dead at the weekend. The woman allegedly told police she was involved in the killing of four other children. Sibonyoni said that the lives of women and children were made worthless in South Africa due to grooming. He said, “we sort of fold our arms in teaching them to respect the life of other people, or also to respect the human dignity of other people.” He added, “But specifically, as parents, we need to play a larger role in educating our male children to accept whatever defeat or challenges that they will incur in the relationships.”