A 23-year-old woman named Veronique Makewana was charged with attempted murder in 2019 after she cut off the penis of a guy who had been arrested for raping and killing her 5-year-old daughter in Port Elizabeth.
Following a significant public uproar, the charge was dropped to assault, and she was eventually released by the magistrates.
Gender-based violence made news during Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s royal tour to South Africa that year as new crime statistics revealed that 125 rapes occurred there every day.
Massive protests were sparked by the story of local student Uyinene Mrwetyana, 19, who was raped and killed, when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who were working royals at the time, were in Cape Town.
Meghan visited the Clareinch Post Office, where Uyinene was attacked and killed, privately as a result of the furious demonstrations against gender-based violence that were taking place around the Western Cape.
To honor the gifted teen who was raped and then killed by a post office employee using a set of scale weights, thousands of ribbons were strung to the post office’s balcony.
