The EFF’s Vicki Mampe-Motloung tells OFM News that they are perturbed by some of the incidents reported in Qwaqwa and Bloemfontein. She said this outside the Bloemfontein Magistrate's Court, after the trial into the brutal assault on Lesedi FM presenter, Dimakatso Folotsi, was postponed to 22 September 2021 in light of the accused’s financial challenges. 

Mampe-Motloung is of the view that more needs to be done by law enforcement authorities to curb the rates of GBV in the aforementioned hotspots. Her comments come on the back of the release of quarterly crime statistics by Police Minister Bheki Cele, for the period April to June 2021 recently, which revealed a 153,8% rise in rape cases reported in Thabong, Welkom. The same township saw a 20% increase in sexual assault cases.

The EFF has also expressed its dissatisfaction with the postponement of the trial against Folotsi’s ex-husband, McKenzie Ratselane, who was revealed to have opted for representation by legal aid due to his inability to pay for private legal counsel. Mampe-Motloung says the state needs to expedite the trial so that Folotsi can get some closure. She laments that if the case drags on any further, it only worsens the victim’s trauma. Ratselane – a former police officer – is facing kidnapping, assault, and attempted murder charges in connection with the stabbing of his ex-wife in February 2021.

Folotsi was found bloodied and stabbed multiple times in the Caleb Motshabi informal settlement outside Bloemfontein by residents who then alerted the police. The former police officer had left her for dead and fled to Ennerdale in Gauteng where he was found six days after the incident.

Ratselane had previously abandoned bail during his second court appearance but made a sudden about-turn a few months later. During his bail attempt, Ratselane told the court that he did not try to evade his arrest. He said he simply left for Gauteng to seek counsel from his elders to fix what he termed as marital issues with the victim. The court denied his renewed bail application in August 2021.

OFM News