Murder of Uyinene Mrwetyana
Uyinene Mrwetyana | |
---|---|
East London, Eastern Cape, South Africa | |
Disappeared | 24 August 2019 (aged 19) Claremont, Western Cape, South Africa |
Died | 24 August 2019 Claremont, Western Cape, South Africa | (aged 19)
Cause of death | Murder |
Body discovered | Lingelethu West, Khayelitsha |
Resting place | Qina Location, Centane, Eastern Cape, South Africa |
Nationality | South African |
Other names | Nene |
Education | Kingswood College |
Alma mater | University of Cape Town |
Occupation | Scholar |
Parent(s) | Noma Mrwetyana (mother) Philip Mrwetyana (father) |
Uyinene "Nene" Mrwetyana
Background
Mrwetyana was born in
Incident and legal proceedings
Murder and disappearance
On 24 August 2019, Mrwetyana had been told by a post office attendant and her future killer, Luyanda Botha, that her parcel was not ready for collection and that she should come back later in the afternoon, despite the post office closing at 1pm. Botha had planned his attack in advance, arranging with his post office colleague, Soraya Abdullah for her to leave work earlier. When Mrwetyana arrived after the official closing time, Botha locked the door behind her and began to violate her.[16][17][18] He raped her and attempted to strangle her, before ultimately bludgeoning her to death with a two kilogram weight targeting her head and eventually knocking her unconscious. He returned the following day to retrieve her body and drove to a nearby field where he doused her body with petrol and set it on fire.[19]
Mrwetyana was last seen in Claremont leaving a
Trial
A suspect, later identified as post office employee Luyanda Botha, was arrested and confessed to the Wynberg Magistrate's Court of committing the murder at a post office in Claremont.[22][15] Following his arrest and subsequent confession, Botha was found to have raped and strangled her, before ultimately bludgeoning her to death.[19] On 15 November 2019, Luyanda Botha received three life sentences for the rape and murder of Mrwetyana.[29] He will be eligible for parole after serving 25 years of his sentence.[19]
Response
National reactions
Following Botha's arrest, remembrances and memorial services were held at the University of Cape Town,[30][31] and University of Witwatersrand.[32] A large protest occurred at the World Economic Forum on Africa in Cape Town on 4 September where South African President Cyril Ramaphosa was present.[33][34] Ramaphosa also attended an even larger protest outside Houses of Parliament, Cape Town the next day which gathered an attendance of several thousand people.[35][9] The hashtag #AmINext gained prominence during this time and was a major motive behind several of the protests.[36][9][37] Mrwetyana's death as well as the rape and death of other women precipitated widespread public outcry that led to a two-day campus shutdown at the University of Cape Town.[38] Mrwetyana's death "ignited a movement"[8][9] and is known to have "shifted the South African collective consciousness".[7]
Implementations
On 29 November 2019, The Uyinene Mrwetyana Foundation was founded in
International reactions
In September 2019, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex secretly visited the post office where Mrwetyana was murdered, while touring South Africa with her husband, Prince Harry.[46] In that same month, hundreds of South Africans gathered to protest against gender-based violence in Times Square, New York City after the news of Mrwetyana's death.[47]
See also
External links
- Official website of the Uyinene Mrwetyana Foundation
- "#IamNene: How Uyinene Mrwetyana's murder ignited a movement" – a mini-documentary by News24
References
- ^ Phakeng, Mamokgethi (2 September 2018). "Remembering Nene". University of Cape Town. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
- ^ "Funeral notice: UYINENE (UTHIXO) MRWETYANA". Daily Dispatch. 4 September 2018. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
- ISSN 1996-5516. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
- Global Citizen. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
- OCLC 848273689. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
- ISSN 1996-5516. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
- ^ OCLC 660155591. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
- ^ a b "#IamNene: How Uyinene Mrwetyana's murder ignited a movement". News24. 25 September 2019. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
- ^ ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
- ^ Dayimani, Malibongwe; Kretzmaan, Jenna (30 August 2019). "More detectives hunt for missing student". Daily Dispatch. p. 3. Retrieved 25 August 2020 – via Press Reader.
- ISSN 1996-5516. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
- ^ "Hudson Park is devastated by news of the loss of Uyinene Mrwetyana. Uyinene chaired our Student Council in 2013, and was awarded the Hudsonian of the Year award..." Facebook. Hudson Park Primary School. 15 August 2018. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
- ^ Dordley, Lucinda (13 March 2020). "Uyinene Mrwetyana receives posthumous award". Cape Town Etc. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
- ^ Carlisle, Adrienne (12 March 2020). "Uyinene honoured with Neil Aggett memorial award". Daily Dispatch. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
- ^ ISSN 1996-5516. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
- ISSN 1996-5516. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
- OCLC 1117734205. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
- ^ Dordley, Lucinda (7 November 2019). "Details of Uyinene Mrwetyana murder revealed". Cape Town Etc. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
- ^ OCLC 44230895. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
- OCLC 44230895. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
- OCLC 44230895. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
- ^ OCLC 1117734205. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
- ^ Phakeng, Mamokgethi (30 August 2019). "UCT and Mrwetyana family intensify search for missing student". University of Cape Town. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
- ISSN 1996-5516. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
- ^ Friedman, Barbara (28 August 2019). "Twitter rallies behind search for missing UCT teen #BringNeneHome". CapeTalk. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
- OCLC 36296821. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
- ISSN 1016-3956. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
- OCLC 44230895. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
- OCLC 464379002. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
- ISSN 1996-5516. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
- ISSN 1996-5516. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
- OCLC 44230895. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
- ISSN 1996-5516. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
- OCLC 44230895. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
- ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
- ^ Parkinson, Christian (13 September 2019). "#AmINext protests in South Africa over violence against women". BBC News. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
- OCLC 36296821. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
- ^ "Academic classes and tests suspended for 5 and 6 September". University of Cape Town News. 4 September 2019. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
- ^ Shange, Naledi (29 November 2019). "'I don't want the end to define my daughter': Uyinene Mrwetyana's mom as foundation is launched". TimesLIVE. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
- ^ Ellis, Estelle (1 December 2019). "Maverick Citizen: Eastern Cape: Rain blesses launch of Uyinene Mrwetyana Foundation in Makhanda". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
- iOL. 30 November 2019. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
- ^ Kubheka, Thando (7 September 2019). "UCT Announces Uyinene Mrwetyana Scholarship for Women in Humanities". Eyewitness News. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
- ^ "UCT selects first Uyinene Mrwetyana Scholarship recipient". www.news.uct.ac.za.
- ^ "President calls for a Joint Sitting of Parliament on Gender-Based Violence". The Presidency of South Africa. 17 September 2019. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
- ^ Brothwell, Ryan (7 March 2020). "New laws aim to introduce harsher punishments for criminals in South Africa". Business Tech. Archived from the original on 21 March 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
- ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
- ^ Karrim, Azarrah (24 September 2019). "South Africans demonstrate against gender-based violence in Times Square, NY". News24. Retrieved 24 August 2020.