Cape Town - President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on Parliament to urgently pass a law that will prevent suspects charged with rape and murder to be granted bail.
Ramaphosa said if these people were sentenced to life imprisonment they should not be granted parole.
The president, who is addressing Parliament on Wednesday on gender-based violence, said the time of talking was over. It was now time for action.
He said there was a dark cloud hanging over the country with women and children being raped and killed.
“Outside of this Parliament, in the streets, we heard the demands of women that they want to be safe. We affirm here what they have been saying, they marched in their thousands to Parliament, they were saying with one voice enough is enough,” said Ramaphosa.
He said they want to bring in changes to the law to impose harsher sentences on those convicted of rape and murder of women and children.