‘Eliminate the fear’ – remembering Uyinene Mrwetyana five years on

Five years after the tragic killing of University of Cape Town (UCT) first-year student Uyinene Mrwetyana, her memory continues to be celebrated, while the battle against sexual and gender-based violence and femicide (SGBVF) continues.

As the heavens opened with rain on Saturday, 24 August, during the Uyinene Mrwetyana Foundation’s (UMF) annual anti-SGBVF walk, community leaders, students, parents and observers were not deterred and showed up in their numbers under the theme: “Eliminate the fear: prioritising safety and security”.

The UMF has been supported over the years by several foundations, including Langa For Men, and Springbok rugby player Makazole Mapimpi’s foundation has recently come on board. It is not the first time Mapimpi shows support for Uyinene.

In September 2019, as the national rugby team was playing a warm-up game against Japan at the World Cup, Mapimpi scored three tries and revealed that on his wrist strapping he had written the words: “RIP Nene”. In a later interview, Mapimpi revealed why: “I know pain and poverty, and seeing people being abused because I grew up in a family that experienced that. I remember a day when my sister was slapped … When I wrote her [Uyinene] name on my wrist strapping, I wasn’t sure if I was going to score a try, but [I knew] one thing that has to happen is I have to show it. It came from my heart because I know the feeling.”

The partnership has been well received by the Mrwetyana family. Speaking at the gates of Parliament, Uyinene’s mother, Nomangwane Mrwetyana, said: “It is an honour to have the Makazole Mapimpi Foundation on board. We thank him in absentia for choosing to be an ambassador.”

Uyinene was raped and murdered at the Clareinch Post Office in Claremont, Cape Town. The man responsible for her death, Luyanda Botha, attacked, raped and murdered the then first-year Humanities student.

“The people who are here have been in our corner since day one. Thank you for being faithful to us. The students of UCT have stood with us. I want to salute you all. Let me encourage you, that as we go back to our homes, this is a collective responsibility; where a human being exists, there should be no fear. Ensure the safety and security of every human being around you. Sithi phambili ngalomlo we (We say forward with the fight against) gender-based violence and we hope that at some point we will live in a South Africa that is free of GBV,” said Nomangwane.

Presenting crime statistics earlier this year for the period from October to December 2023, former Minister of Police Bheki Cele revealed that police opened 15 284 sexual offences cases, down from 15 545 in 2022. Rape and sexual assault went down by 1.7% and 1.9% respectively. Police registered 12 211 rape cases, down from 12 419 in 2022. Sexual assault went down from 2 154 to 2 114.

Taking a stand

The audience also heard from Luhlanganiso Majebe, the first recipient of the Uyinene Mrwetyana Scholarship, which was awarded in 2021. The scholarship is aimed at eligible students in the Humanities faculty. It provides wrap-around funding – covering tuition, textbooks, accommodation, and health and wellness – for the duration of the recipient’s undergraduate degree programme.

Part of the scholarship agreement is that she needs to contribute to the work of the Uyinene Mrwetyana Foundation. This necessitates that she enlists to volunteer at a non-profit organisation (NPO) whose work addresses GBV at community level.

Majebe revealed that the UMF together with Spar are in the process of trialling a safety app at certain institutions as they test the product.

“We must refuse to normalise gender-based violence and femicide and instead normalise safety and security for everyone.”

“We are working towards not only raising awareness but creating an environment where university spaces are safe for us female students. Perpetrators need to be caught before they carry out their atrocious acts, and I specifically call on the men of UCT to take a stand. Don’t occupy leadership positions if you know that you are a rape apologist or an enabler of your friends. We can have the safety app, but our community needs to take a stand.”

UCT Deputy Vice-Chancellor (DVC) for Transformation, Student Affairs and Social Responsiveness Professor Elelwani Ramugondo added her voice on the day, saying: “We must refuse to normalise gender-based violence and femicide and instead normalise safety and security for everyone, particularly women, young people, disabled people, members of the LGBTQIA+ community and the elderly. The theme is a commitment and a call to everyone in society that safety is a right and not a privilege.”