The biggest reason for the state of South Africa is not government or the ANC, it due to apathy and silent diplomacy. The fact that we don't show the world what happens to good men like Terrance Tegg and innocent little children like Chantal Makwena. nitter.net/IanCameron23/status/14…

Charlene Pretorius was a mother of three. In May 2023, she suffered devastating burn injuries during an incident at her home in Pretoria North. She later died in hospital from those injuries and multiple organ failure. Her husband was arrested and is standing trial for her murder. It is alleged that he set her alight! We became involved with Charlene’s family and has continued supporting them through a court process that has now stretched over years. Her children have had to enter a courtroom and give evidence about the events surrounding their mother’s death. Just think about that. Children who have already lost their mother then have to sit in a criminal court and relive what happened to her. The forensic pathologist has since testified that Charlene suffered burns to approximately 30% of her body, injuries to her respiratory system caused by flame inhalation and ultimately died from her burn injuries and multiple organ failure. The trial must run its course and guilt must be determined by the court. But Charlene’s case is also a reminder of something bigger. We cannot wait until a woman is dead before we take domestic violence seriously. Patterns of abuse matter. Threats matter. Escalation matters. Protection orders matter. And when a woman says she is afraid, the system must understand that the next incident may not leave her alive to report it. We must not forget them while they wait. IC

Christine Robinson’s case is one I will never forget. Christine was a retired British teacher who had made South Africa her home. After her husband died, she continued running the game lodge they had built together near Thabazimbi. On 30 July 2014, Christine was raped and murdered at that lodge. Andrew Ndlovu fled after the attack. Years passed, but Christine’s family never stopped looking for him. I became personally involved with the family, following leads and trying to find him. Six years to the day after Christine was murdered, a tip-off following another social media appeal led us to Johannesburg. Together with SAPS members, led by W/O Crewe and former police officer Colonel Sakkie Louwrens, we found Ndlovu that very evening in Johannesburg and arrested him. I will never forget that day. The feeling of satisfaction to tell a family that we got him! But even an arrest was only the beginning of the road to justice. Almost eight years after Christine’s murder, Ndlovu finally stood trial. His DNA linked him to the crime and in April 2022 he was convicted of rape and murder. He ultimately received two life sentences. Christine’s family waited almost eight years for that moment. Their persistence is something I will always remember. A case does not become less important because the headlines disappear. A victim does not matter less because years have passed. Sometimes justice requires people who simply refuse to stop looking. This is why we do what we do. 🙏🏼 IC

Janelle Laattoe survived. That is important, because too often we only start paying attention to women after they have been murdered. Janelle endured years of serious abuse. Her wrist was broken so badly that she required surgery. Her teeth were damaged. She was assaulted repeatedly. Eventually she found the courage to open a criminal case. Then the system began failing her too. In fact, when they lost her docket, it literally took a press conference for the docket to magically reappear! Her case dragged through court for more than a year. It was provisionally withdrawn. When she fought to have it placed back on the roll, her docket had disappeared. I remember working on Janelle’s case and watching her refuse to disappear quietly. She spoke out. She kept pushing. And she was not the only woman accusing the same man of serious violence. Years later, Ryan Rhode finally pleaded guilty to eight charges involving three women, including Janelle, and was sentenced to an effective eight years’ imprisonment in September 2026. Janelle’s story matters because survival should not be followed by another fight against the very system meant to protect you. A woman should not survive an abuser and then have to survive a missing docket too. Listen to women while they are still alive. IC

Chevonne Rusch was only two years old. Two. She should have been learning new words, running around, playing and discovering the world. Instead, she was beaten to death. A pathologist later told the court that Chevonne had 49 injuries and bruises across her tiny body. She died from severe bleeding on the brain after head trauma. Her mother, Rochelle Botha, and Stefan van Niekerk were eventually convicted of her murder, along with a range of other serious offences involving children. Van Niekerk received life imprisonment for the murder, while Botha received 25 years for Chevonne’s murder. Botha’s application for leave to appeal was later refused. We worked on this case closely during my time at Action Society. And I still struggle with one simple fact: Chevonne was two years old. She could not call the police. She could not leave. She could not apply for a protection order. She depended entirely on adults to notice what was happening and protect her. They failed her. When we talk about violence against children, never allow it to become just another statistic. Remember Chevonne. Remember 49 injuries on the body of a two-year-old child. This is why we do what we do. 🙏🏼 IC

I still think about Cleo Diko. Cleo was a mother of three. She disappeared in October 2022. For three months, her family did not know where she was. Then, in January 2023, her decomposed body was found hidden under a bed in Mandalay, Cape Town. There was a rope around her neck. Her body had been covered with cement and tiles. She had to be identified through DNA testing. Our team at Action Society stood with Cleo’s family through the court process. We watched postponement after postponement while her mother struggled to move forward from the day her daughter’s remains were found. Eventually, Sandile Jegwa pleaded guilty and was sentenced in March 2024 to 20 years in prison for Cleo’s murder. Justice did come. But think about what that family first had to endure. A daughter disappears. Months of uncertainty follow. Then her body is discovered hidden under a bed. And after that, the family still has to fight its way through a slow court process. That is the human cost behind the word “postponement”. This is why we do what we do. 🙏🏼 IC

Bredasdorp-moord: Oproep vir strenger optrede maroelamedia.co.za/nuus/bred…

SAPS UNDER FIRE AS POLICE COMMITTEE INVESTIGATES ‘INACCURATE’ WOMEN’S CRIME DATA magic828.co.za/saps-under-fi…

I asked SAPS through Parliament how often its 10111 systems had gone down over the past three financial years. The answer included: Hilton: 73 interruptions Mahikeng: 61 Durban Central: 29 Hilton and Mahikeng alone account for 56.8% of the 236 numerically recorded interruptions across the comparable centres. Emergency infrastructure should be designed around reliability and redundancy, not repeated failure. IC

SAPS confirmed in response to my parliamentary question that Phokeng’s 10111 centre is not operational at all. No Call Manager System. No personnel placed at the centre. Imagine living in an area and discovering that the emergency call centre intended to serve the system simply isn’t functioning. Every community deserves reliable access to emergency assistance. IC

Another figure from my parliamentary question on 10111: At Nelspruit, only 5 of 11 allocated emergency lines are operational. 54.5% are down. If you’re calling after a serious crash, an armed robbery or because someone is threatening your family, you shouldn’t have to wonder whether there is enough capacity to answer. More than half the allocated lines being down at an emergency centre needs urgent attention. IC

The SIU and Hawks are today searching PSIRA’s offices and seizing documents, computers and cellphones linked to the failed training project. The figures are staggering: • R129.98 million project value • 6,507 learners reportedly trained • Only 118 accredited, less than 2% • R30.18 million paid in advance before equivalent services were delivered PSIRA then failed to provide the SIU with the complete record, omitting an entire year’s documents. Investigators had to obtain a search warrant. We pushed for this investigation for more than a year. PSIRA even tried to have me removed from chairing the parliamentary meeting where we demanded answers. We refused to be intimidated. Now follow the evidence, recover every cent and prosecute anyone implicated in criminal conduct. IC

An uncomfortable finding from the HSRC’s national study on gender-based violence: 22.5% of men who were or had previously been in an intimate relationship agreed that a woman cannot refuse sex with her husband. Almost one in four. That is not something a detective can fix after the crime has already happened. Men need to ask harder questions of other men. What do we tolerate in our friendship groups? What do our sons hear us say about women? What do we do when a friend controls, humiliates or abuses his partner? Changing this cannot begin only after another woman is dead. IC

Around 60% of the women murdered in the SAMRC’s 2020/21 national femicide study were killed by an intimate partner. For many women, the danger was not a stranger. It was someone they knew. Someone they trusted. Someone they lived with, loved, had children with or were trying to leave. Policing matters enormously, but policing alone cannot solve this. We have to ask what boys are learning about women, relationships, control, consent and violence long before a detective ever opens a murder docket. IC

Nadia Lotz was 32 years old and a mother of three. Our team worked with her family too. She was stabbed repeatedly and her throat was cut. Her family then spent years living through the criminal justice process. Her killer was eventually sentenced to 22 years’ imprisonment. Justice eventually came. But families should not have to sacrifice years of their lives simply to reach the end of a case. Delays have a human cost too. IC

Dear Mr President, 6,596 reported rapes in three months. Around 72 every day. Three every hour. One every 20 minutes. Government classified gender-based violence and femicide as a national disaster. My question to you, the President, is simple: what actually changed? biznews.com/leadership/gbv-n…

Earlier this afternoon, double murder in Gabriel court, Kraaifontein.

Government called gender-based violence a national disaster. But the state still budgets roughly R846 million more for VIP protection than the amount specifically identified for specialised Family Violence and Child Protection units. Budgets are choices. This one says a lot about ours. news24.com/opinions/columnis…

Bokgabo Poo was four years old. She was abducted while playing. Her body was mutilated. Our team worked directly with her family. The man prosecuted for her murder was ultimately acquitted after the court excluded key evidence, leaving the family without a conviction for her killing. That is why we have to measure more than arrests and courtroom conviction percentages. A justice system must be judged by what happens from the moment a child disappears until somebody is lawfully held accountable. IC

21 SEPTEMBER 2026 SAPS APPEALS FOR INFORMATION FOLLOWING TRIPLE MURDER IN LINGELETHU-WEST WESTERN CAPE: SAPS in the Western Cape is investigating a triple murder and attempted murder following a shooting in Phumleni, Lingelethu-West, on Sunday, 20 September 2026. At approximately 22:20, police responded to a shooting at an informal dwelling in NB63, Phumleni. On arrival, members found four males with gunshot wounds inside the dwelling. Three victims, aged between 27 and 36, were declared deceased at the scene, while a 38-year-old male was transported to a medical facility for treatment. Serious Violent Crime detectives are investigating the circumstances surrounding the shooting. Forensic experts are processing the crime scene and investigators are following up on available leads. No arrests have been made at this stage. Anyone who may have information that could assist the investigation is urged to contact Crime Stop on 08600 10111 or use the mobile application MySAPS. Information may be provided anonymously.

A fetus was discovered in an open field in Morley Street, Delft South, on Saturday afternoon. Police spokesperson Sgt Wesley Twigg confirmed that Delft police registered a concealment of birth case. The fetus was allegedly found inside a plastic bag by a member of the public around 12:35. The gestational age is unknown, and no arrests have been made. Police have appealed to anyone with information to contact Crime Stop at 08600 10111 or use the MySAPS mobile application anonymously. This incident follows recent cases of abandoned babies in Delft, Hanover Park, Steynsrus, and Gqeberha, which have raised concerns from organisations such as Ilitha Labantu about violence, stigma, and lack of support leading to such tragedies.