Community called to arrive en masse to support Sandisiwe’s family at Plett court on Friday
Women’s rights activists have started a petition in an attempt to ensure that bail is denied for the man accused of murdering a Plettenberg Bay teenager – Yolande Stander reports
Seventeen-year-old Sandisiwe Mona’s remains were recently found in Lady wood and a 56-year-old man was subsequently arrested in connection with the murder. Motseki Palasi is set to apply for bail on Friday.
Mona went missing between 6 am on April 8 and 2 pm on April 13. Police said initial information revealed that her grandmother left her at their home in KwaNokuthula while she attended a funeral. On her return, the grandmother discovered that the girl had gone missing.
A search party was established by the KwaNokuthula police but was eventually called off after no positive outcome. Her remains were however found on August 5 by a passer-by walking his dog in the Lady wood area. DNA confirmed her identity.
Candice Ludick of the Total Shutdown movement said they decided to start a petition as communities could no longer “overlook gender-based violence” simply because perpetrators were known.
“As long as the law allows accused perpetrators to walk free while the wheels of justice turn, perpetrators will continue to believe that they are able to get away with their crimes. #TheTotalShutdown has assisted the family of the late Sandisiwe Mona with the creation and circulation of a petition opposing bail for the man accused of her murder.”
#TheTotalShutdown urged residents to show their support: “As womxn [sic], we call on all the womxn of Bitou to gather outside Plettenberg Bay Magistrates Court on Friday, October 4 to stand in solidarity with Sandisiwe’s family as they seek justice for their child.”
Ludick added that members of #TheTotalShut-down traditionally wore black with a touch of red at court cases to symbolise their mourning for all the lives lost, and to acknowledge all the blood that had been shed due to sexual and gender-based violence and femicide.
– Garden Route Media
• Readers can Google ‘justice for Sandisiwe’ and click on the awethu.amandla.mobi/petitions link to sign the petition.