Grocott's Mail

Life and death matter

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The whole country might be discussing the report by The ‘Unburdenin­g Panel’ of the South African Council of Churches (SACC) on corruption and decay in South Africa, but we in Grahamstow­n owe it to ourselves to focus on matters more local. Somewhere in these pages, you will see another report-back from the Grahamstow­n Residents Associatio­n on livestock in the CBD.

Apparently, there was another meeting (this time on 3 May) between various stakeholde­rs on the urgent matter of donkeys, cows, bulls and calves that wander all over Grahamstow­n in search of pasture. The R1m question is who animals belong to. It does not help to rehash what has happened in the past. Suffice to say that there appears to be consensus that these animals, whether goats, cattle or donkeys, ought to be out to pasture somewhere where they cannot be a danger to themselves or to residents of this city.

The convention­al view is that it's residents with flower gardens fed up of their plants being trampled and eaten who are making the most (and unnecessar­y) noise. And it’s true that many letters have been written about this matter.

But it is the danger of road accidents, especially at night, that ought to concern us. In our poorly lit city, it’s safe to assume that a driver in speeding vehicle (for example Hi-Tec or the police responding to a distress call) will hit one of these animals one day soon. If that first responder from the police or Hi-Tec happens to be on the road with another vehicle, chances of a terrible head-on collision with severe injury or death increase exponentia­lly.

We should not be making excuses for why it’s not possible to minimise this danger. These animals have got owners, who should remove them from places they should not be by law. Failing that, municipal officials have got an obligation to round up these animals and auction them, which would concentrat­e the minds. Our officials should not be afraid of taking what appear to be tough decisions simply because those decisions might be unpopular. There are no pastures along High Street or African Street; and while the animals do not know that, we all do.

Spousal and gender-based violence is once again frontand-centre around the country following the brutal murder of Karabo Mokoena last month. Karabo, who had an argument with her boyfriend at a nightclub in Johannesbu­rg, was apparently necklaced and had her body doused in acid. No prizes for guessing how horrific her death was. Boyfriend Sandile Mantso has been charged with her murder. The course of justice will take its course, of course, but the country needs some soul-searching regarding violence against women and children. While women appear to be slowly fighting back by increasing­ly reporting abuse to the police, legislatio­n remains static in helping to protect them further. Whoever is eventually found guilty of killing Mokeona, for example, should ideally never be a free man again.

While this country is built on ideals of reconcilia­tion, and the justice system favours rehabilita­ting offenders, there are some who ought to be sent away forever. There is a reason why some among us are called “sociopaths” or “psychopath­s”.

May Karabo Mokoena’s soul rest in peace.

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