Johannesburg - The ANC Women’s League has called the six-year prison sentence handed down to Paralympian Oscar Pistorius on Wednesday an insult.
Gauteng ANCWL spokeswoman Jacqui Mofokeng said the league was disappointed by the outcome.
“We’re not happy at all. It’s an insult to women, to the Steenkamp family and to all South Africans. We’ve seen a lot of cases over the years; in 2014, Zanele Khumalo’s killer was sentenced to 20 years, (rap star) Flabba Habedi’s murderer was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
“But what is going on in this one? Is this the price of an innocent woman’s life, six years in jail?”
Mofokeng said the case was a lesson for the country. “What remains is the fact that civil society and the media need to work together and look at South Africa’s policy and laws.” She said the league would be taking the judgment to the ANC’s legal department for discussion.
“We have to look at all the things that are happening to women, crimes committed against them, issues of drugs. All this needs to be assessed.
“We need to look at how the judge said public opinion doesn’t matter here and compare it to the international system where there are juries made up of the public who decide on these matters.”
Mofokeng said citizens should be involved and be able to take part in such practices.
“We are calling on civil society to expose such cases and measure them.
“Our message is that we must learn from this case, we must rally and unite at all times if we are to look at the policies so that the best practices can be implemented.”