Belhar detectives are investigating a case of a double murder following the discovery of two bodies yesterday. The victims are believed to be mother and daughter Altecia Kortjie (27) and Raynecia Kortjie (7), who have been missing since 6pm on June 9.
The bodies were discovered at about 4pm in Commerce street, Belhar. A man has been arrested in connection of the double murder.
“According to information at the disposal, police attended to the scene and found the victims in the house. The 27-year-old female had multiple stab wounds in her body while the child was found on the bathroom floor,” says SAPS Western Cape Sergeant Noloyiso Rwexana.
According to Rwexana, a 28-year-old man has been arrested and is expected to appear in the Bellville Magistrates’ Court on charges of murder on Monday, June 15 2020.
This case follows many other recent stories of gender-based violence (GBV) such as Tshegofatso Pule, Naledi Phangindawo, Nompumelelo Tshaka and other women in the Eastern Cape and Kwa-Zulu Natal.
Today [June 13] President Cyril Ramaphosa condemned GBV, and called on all South Africans to end the culture of silence around gender-based violence and report perpetrators to the South African Police Service.
“It is a dark and shameful week for us as a nation. Criminals have descended to even greater depths of cruelty and callousness. It simply cannot continue,” President Ramaphosa said.
“We note with disgust that at a time when the country is facing the gravest of threats from the pandemic, violent men are taking advantage of the eased restrictions on movement to attack women and children.”
“In far too many cases of gender-based violence, the perpetrators are known to the victim, but they are also known to our communities. That is why we say this is a societal matter, and not a matter of law enforcement alone. Gender-based violence thrives in a climate of silence. With our silence, by looking the other way because we believe it is a personal or family matter, we become complicit in this most insidious of crimes,” President Ramaphosa concluded.
Picture: Facebook / Belhar Lookout