Men accused of femicide appear in court
TWO men accused of femicide appeared briefly in the Bafokeng Magistrate’s Court in Tlhabane, near Rustenburg, on Monday.
The case against Letlhogonolo Mokoena was postponed to May 13 for further investigation. He is accused of killing his girlfriend, Selina Dubazana, 23, on Christmas Day last year.
Dubazana allegedly called off her relationship with Mokoena, also known as Maradona, citing domestic abuse. It is alleged that while walking home with two male friends on Christmas Day, Mokoena assaulted the men with a beer bottle. Dubazana escaped, but Mokoena followed her and severely assaulted her. She spent two weeks in an intensive care unit before dying.
Irate community members protested outside the court, calling for justice for the young woman.
The #IamSelinasVoice online campaign was initiated by Dubazana’s long-time friend, Dineo Mogale, who said Dubazana did not deserve to die the way she did.
“Selina was a humble and respectful young lady. Although I was away when she was killed, she told me before she was planning to leave Maradona.”
She said the aim of the campaign was to say “Enough is enough” when it came to the killing of women. Mokoena was granted bail of R1500.
In another case, 40-year-old Sonnyboy Ramela is accused of killing 15-year-old Zanele Biyo on New Year’s Day.
The teenager’s decomposed body was found on January 5 in Chaneng, outside Rustenburg. The case against Ramela was postponed to May 28. He was remanded in custody.
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African News Agency (ANA)