President Cyril Ramaphosa has declared three days of mourning, from November 25 to 29, for victims of Covid-19 and gender-based violence.
Through our We Remember campaign, we too will pay tribute to some of the more than 20 000 people who have died due to the coronavirus pandemic and commemorate women who have died violently at the hands of men.
One such victim is Limpopo intern doctor Shongile Pretty Nkhwashu who was killed by her boyfriend during an argument in January.
According a statement her boyfriend Ntiyiso Xilumane which read out in court, the couple had argued after the 24-year-old told him she was breaking up with him.
He claimed that in the ensuing scuffle he grabbed her by the throat and threw her on the bed. When she stopped moving he used her stethoscope to check whether she was dead.
Xilumane left her body her room at the doctors’ residence where it was only discovered when someone went to investigate a bad smell coming from the room.
Shongile leaves behind her parents and a young son who she had with the man who has confessed to killing her.
To the families of those who have died from Covid-19 or gender-based violence this year, we share your pain, we know their names and most of all, we remember.
#WeRemember #DontLookAway #16Days