The bail hearing of the man suspected of violently raping and killing 13-year-old Thimna Kuze in Khayelitsha on 25 March this year, was scheduled to appear before the Khayelitsha Magistrate’s court yesterday, but the proceedings were postponed to tomorrow. Action Society is overseeing the case on behalf of Thimna’s family and demands that bail is denied.
“On the 25th of March this year, Thimna was sleeping over at a friend’s house, and was found dead a day later in a shack with blood in her nose, mouth and groin area. It is believed that she was raped before she was killed,” said Action Society coordinator, Kaylynn Palm.
Thimna’s case highlights the overall increase in violent crime against women and children in South Africa over the past three years. In the first quarter of this year (between April and June) we lost 293 children to murder – that’s three children per day. Even taking into account that rape cases are severely under reported, current statistics show that at least five women are raped every hour.
“The only way to fight the increasing numbers of crime against women and children is to permanently remove the perpetrators of these crimes from the streets. Denying bail will be the first step on this journey.”
