In April, I wrote about the painful state of justice in South Africa—about three cases that had gripped the nation, exposing the cracks in our legal system and shaking the faith of survivors everywhere.
At the time, we were still holding out hope. We were still demanding accountability. We were still insisting that the courts would do what they are meant to do: deliver justice.
Now, it is May. And with it has come a wave of devastating updates—each one more painful than the last. It is not just that the system failed again. It is that it did so with such brutal predictability that we are left wondering whether it was ever truly built for survivors at all.
Let’s begin with Ms Andy Kawa, whose case is one of the most enduring symbols of the justice system’s cruelty toward rape survivors. Thirteen years after she was abducted and gang raped on Kings Beach in Port Elizabeth, her attacker, Moses Gqesha, was finally sentenced this month. He received eight life terms in prison—a sentence we welcome.
But what justice is it when it comes over a decade too late?
Andy spent years navigating postponements, judicial inertia, and indifference. Her life was paused while South Africa’s justice machinery dragged its feet. What is especially gut-wrenching is that it was DNA evidence that eventually confirmed Gqesha’s identity—evidence that existed for years but was caught in the backlog crisis that continues to derail cases across the country. This delay wasn’t just administrative. It was violent. It prolonged Andy’s suffering, and it reminds every survivor that even when the evidence exists, justice can still be denied.
Then came the gutting update on Timothy Omotoso, the televangelist who had long stood accused of rape and human trafficking. In April, the nation was still watching the drawn-out legal proceedings with cautious hope. But by May, that hope was shattered.
The courts acquitted Omotoso of all charges related to sexual violence and human trafficking, bringing years of painful testimony and advocacy to an abrupt end. And then, almost immediately, he was **rearrested—not for the pain and trauma carried by his accusers—but for immigration violations.
In a devastating twist, it was not violence against women that the state pursued, but a visa technicality. Survivors who came forward were left with no closure, no justice, and no sense that the system had taken their stories seriously. It sent a chilling message: that even when women risk everything to speak up, the system can still choose silence.
And perhaps the most haunting blow came with the Cwecwe case. A seven-year-old girl was raped on school premises—a place meant to protect her, not betray her. The nation mourned, marched, and cried for justice.
But in May, the NPA announced it would not prosecute anyone. Not one adult. Not one school staff member. Not one perpetrator. Just silence. Just bureaucracy. Just a child’s suffering swallowed by indifference.
These three cases are not exceptions—they are evidence of a system that is failing by design. They show us that in this country, justice is not just delayed—it is disabled. Survivors are retraumatized. Children are sacrificed. And predators walk away with impunity.
But we are not staying silent.
As The Great People of South Africa, and as a proud grantee of the Women’s Voice and Leadership South Africa (WVLSA) programme, we are taking action. In partnership with Global Affairs Canada, Gender Links, and other civil society allies, we are hosting a National Dialogue on GBV and Justice Reform on May 28th, 2025.
This is not just a webinar. It is a call to the nation. A moment of collective reckoning. A refusal to accept that this is the best we can do.
Our speakers include:
Panel 1: STATE AND RESOURCE ACCOUNTABILITY
- Dr Carolyn Hancock (DNA Project): on DNA backlogs and forensic failures in GBV cases
- Phiwokuhle (Black Lawyers Association): on court delays and legal system inefficiencies
- Savera (NADEL): on judicial accountability and misconduct
Panel 2: CIVIL SOCIETY RESPONSE AND RESEARCH
- Mpiwa (Sonke Gender Justice): on engaging men and driving behavioural change
- Marthe (SAWID): on intergenerational healing and the soulcraft approach
- Kevin Chiramba (Gender Links): on advocacy strategy and civil society’s next steps
Moderators: Zintle Khobeni & Thenjiwe Ngcobo
Closing Reflections: Andy Kawa, Zintle Khobeni & Thenjiwe Ngcobo
We are not letting May end the way it began—in silence and sorrow. We are turning our heartbreak into a platform for justice. Into a campaign for truth. Into a demand that survivors no longer walk this road alone.
Join us on May 28th. Because justice denied is dignity destroyed—and we are done waiting.
