DURBAN - NO arrests have been made in connection with the brutal murder of Hlengiwe Madlala, an employee in the office of the KwaZulu-Natal Premier, at her home in Pietermartizburg on Sunday. She will be laid to rest on Thursday.
Madlala was found dead outside her home in Songozima village in Vulindlela. Police spokesperson Colonel Thembeka Mbele said Madlala was found with multiple stab wounds. Mbele said the motive for the killing is unknown and the the matter was still under investigation. No arrests have been made. A case of murder was opened at Taylors Halt police station.
Madlala’s husband, Vusimuzi Madlala, said the family were trying to cope with her death.
Madlala had three children, two daughters, aged 18 and 12, and a 7-year-old son.
KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala has called on police to trace and apprehend those involved in the murder. Zikalala said she was stabbed multiple times and her clothes placed next to her. Her body was mutilated. He said she had deep cuts on her thighs.
“Her body was dumped near her house outside the yard covered, however naked. It was a gruesome act of gender-based violence (GBV). It remains one of the worst scars on society, touching every community, regardless of race, faith or economic status. GBV has now become the second pandemic after Covid-19 and remains a real threat to the building of a united, prosperous, non-sexist, non-racial and equal society,” Zikalala said.
“There is clearly more work to be done on protecting women in KwaZulu-Natal from violence,” he added.
Sonke Gender Justice said they sought strong legislative reforms to bring an end to GBV.
“We must now more than ever be at the forefront of pushing for legislative reform and accelerate our programmatic work to influence systemic change, and dismantle dominant patriarchal norms and toxic masculinity, which are the very foundation of rape culture and GBV,” said Sonke Gender Justice chairperson Sherylle Dass.
She said promises have been made by government and it is now in people’s hands to ensure they deliver.
Dass said they had produced a policy brief, Combating Gender- Based Violence Through Safer Public Transport.
This policy brief was in support of the research report findings and recommendations of the Women and Girls’ Experiences of Gender-Based Violence on Public Transport.
“The Covid-19 pandemic and the hard lockdown that followed presented many challenges for Sonke, but we remained agile and resilient to meet the changing contexts both in terms of our operations and our programmatic work. The confinement orders presented risks for women and children in abusive relationships. Sonke’s contribution in respect of the Joint Submission on Covid-19 and the Increase of Domestic Violence Against Women was significant in mitigating risks while these confinement orders remain in place,” Dass said
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