Johannesburg - Gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) continues to increase in South Africa.
Due to this, the Lentswe Laka Foundation has called on the courts to impose hefty sentences for perpetrators of such violence, sending a message that our country does not tolerate acts of GBVF.
The Lentswe Laka Foundation calls upon the court to ensure the matters are not delayed any further because justice delayed is justice denied.
The foundation said the trial of Kibi Josias Leboho and Lawrence Tleane will begin in the Polokwane High Court on June 12, 2023.
According to foundation spokesperson Bridget Ramokone, attorney Lawrence Tleane is accused of murdering his girlfriend, Tumi Seshuene.
Ramokone said: "The incident occurred in December 2021 at Lesedi Park, outside Polokwane. Tleane allegedly hit Seshuene with his car and received a bail of R1 000 on his first court appearance.
"His murder case was provisionally withdrawn on September 26, 2022, as the docket was not on the court roll, and following multiple engagements with the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and Investigating officer in the case, the matter was taken back on the court roll in March 2023.
"Taxi driver Josias Leboho, on the other (hand) will be tried for the murder of his ex-fiancée, Tshepo Rakoma.
"He was arrested on May 6, 2021, after he sprayed the Capitec Bank consultant's car with bullets, killing her instantly in the parking lot of a shopping centre in the Polokwane CBD."
"He later climbed on top of a building, threatening to commit suicide; however, the police negotiators convinced him otherwise and arrested him. Leboho was later denied bail. He faces charges of murder, theft, and unlawful possession of a firearm," said Ramokone.
Ramokone added that the organisation further called on members of the community and CBOs to come in numbers and support the families of victims.
The foundation is a non-profit organisation established in March 2022, 11 months after Tshepo Rakoma's murder.
It assists families of GBVF victims in Polokwane and surrounding areas. “We aim to create a society free of gender-based violence and femicide through creative measures and the participation of members of the community.”
The Star