Media Statement Busisiwe Mthethwa
Media Statement 8 January 2023
For immediate release
Keeping women and children safe in their homes, relationships and communities needs to be accelerated and amplified!
Cape Town, 5 January 2024 — The horror and shock we feel now as a community with the ruthless murder of Busisiwe Mthethwa, whose dismembered body was found by her family in a chest freezer in her home, Samora Machel, Philippi, must move us to demand for justice, as well as act to prevent violence and abuse every day.
“We are outraged that a woman can be killed in their home, by a person they love, amongst and within a community. We are certainly having more conversations around domestic violence (DV) and GBV, and acknowledge the increase in awareness, unfortunately, it does not mean this type of violence is decreasing,” says Tarisai Mchuchu-MacMillan, Executive Director of an anti-GBV non-governmental organisation (NGO) MOSAIC; a community-based organisation that works to prevent and reduce abuse and domestic violence by providing holistic, integrated services for the healing and empowerment of women through support services, access to justice and training.
“The patriarchal masculinity that underpins the violence and abuse that women and children experience in their homes, relationships and communities needs to change. We need individuals, couples, family and community members to enrol in free workshops, training and dialogues that are designed to equip people with life skills that lead to non-violent, peaceful homes, relationships and communities,” says Mchuchu-MacMillan.
MOSAIC, coordinates a multi-stakeholder platform called SAFE in Philippi and other communities where various local representatives work together to address GBV with a focus on domestic and intimate-partner violence. SAFE seeks to connect and strengthen duty bearers in government and non-governmental organisations to be able to offer prevention and response services. Through the SAFE Platform, coordinated training, workshops and dialogues with a focus on gender equality and skills development to help people challenge the harmful beliefs that normalise continued violence by men and boys against women and girls will be accelerated and amplified. “We must ensure that tragedies like that of Busisiwe Mthethwa will not happen again in our communities. We must work to prevent perpetrators like Brian Miripiri, who use power and control against their partners, who struggle to control their emotions and violent impulses where abuse ends up leading to murder,” says Mchuchu- MacMillan
We are grateful that SAPS in Samora Machel as a SAFE Platform member, together with the Community Policing Forum acted and ensured immediate response to the family’s request when they needed to access the home in search of Busisiwe and further secured the arrest of the alleged perpetrator, Brian Miripiri.
The alleged perpetrator will appear at the Athlone Magistrate, Court F on 9 January 2023. MOSAIC together with the SAFE Platform members call on all community members to attend to ensure that we support the state in opposing bail and helping Busisiwe get the justice she deserves.
Ends
Editors Notes
For more information, inquiries, or requests for interviews, please contact:
Sinelizwi Ncaluka: Communications and Stakeholder Relations Coordinator E: sinelizwi@mosaic.org.za
T: +27 066 269 0629 (Calls and Messaging)
About MOSAIC
MOSAIC Training, Service & Healing Centre (MOSAIC) is an African-feminist, community-based NGO that prevents and reduces abuse and domestic violence. We achieve this through holistic and integrated first responder services when incidents occur, supporting people through healing and rebuilding their lives following a traumatic event, and collectively advocating for system change to ensure universal access to care, support and justice since 1993.
MOSAIC creates an enabling environment through our holistic and integrated five-pillar service model
- Access to justice
- Support and Healing
- Economic Empowerment
- Gender Equality & Safety
- Systems change & Strengthening
The organisation was established in 1993 in response to high levels of violence against women in South Africa, particularly in the form of domestic violence, and in recognition of the silence that many women suffer in unnecessarily, due to either a lack of knowledge of their rights, a lack of confidence to access justice for themselves, or both.
MOSAIC's registered head office is in Cape Town, South Africa.
For further information about MOSAIC, please visit www.mosaic.org.za