SENATORS CALL FOR GBV TO BE NON-BAILABLE OFFENCE

LOBAMBA – Some senators have advised that gender-based violence (GBV) and femicide should be non-bailable offences and be declared a national disaster.

Non-bailable offences are serious crimes, for which bail cannot be granted. After being arrested and taken into custody for a serious or non-bailable offence, a person cannot ask to be released on bail as a matter of right.
The suggestion was made yesterday during the Deputy Prime Minister’s (DPM) Office annual performance report and budget debate by the Senate Portfolio Committee.

The senators noted that the DPM’s Office launched the 2023 to 2028 strategy to end GBV last November. They were interested in finding out the successes of the 2017 to 2022 strategy and how the 2023-28 strategy had been improved. The senators raised concerns about the GBV rate and femicides. They noted that over 14 678 cases were reported through the National Surveillance System on Violence (NSSV).

They stressed the need to upscale the country’s interventions in dealing with GBV. There was an outcry over the granting of bail and prolonged court cases in issues of GBV. The senators suggested that there should be a law, besides the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence (SODV) Act, that should make GBV and femicides non-baliable offences.

They suggested that it would not be a bad idea to have a designated court, to deal with GBV cases. They said this could speed up the court processes and finalisation of GBV cases. Senator Chief Prince Mphafwa, who is also the Chairperson of the Senate Portfolio Committee, wanted to know if there were enough funds to operationilise the GBV strategy that was launched last November. He raised issues of corruption that may hinder the success of the strategy.

“We do not want to see a repeat of the E50 million Capacity Building Fund, where money disappeared, because of corruption,” he said. The chief urged the DPM, Thulisile Dladla, to bring to Parliament a legislation to strengthen GBV laws, so that they may have tougher sentences, with the option to make such offences non-bailable.

Reforms

“Who removed non-bailable offences? We are ready to bring it back through law reforms,” he said. The senator said he was confident that once GBV was made a non-bailable offence, people would see all services that would prevent them from committing GBV offences, because they would fear rotting in jail. They appreciated that the DPM, in the strategy, had a lot of preventative programmes, but mentioned that tough laws on such offenders were paramount.
Senator Isaac Magagula condemned the killing of women.

“What kind of a narrative are we sending, as a country to the world, regarding the excessive violence against women?” he asked. Magagula said he understood that there was a strategy to deal with GBV that had been launched. He said they were eager as the portfolio committee to know what was in the strategy. He noted that there was a strategy that was launched before and he wanted to find out the milestones and challenges of the 2017/22 strategy.
“We need to look into pronouncing GBV and femicides cases as national disasters,” he said.

He also urged the DPM to work with the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs and the Judiciary, to form special courts that would deal with SODV and GBV cases. Magagula said it was high time that every department confronted the fact that the main court system could not be able to handle the SODV cases.

“I wonder if the DPM, working with other stakeholders, has considered special courts for SODV cases. The mainstream court system is overwhelmed and cannot solve cases timely. Justice delayed is justice denied,” he said.
Senator Lorraine Nxumalo mentioned the need to also get assistance for the survivors and victims of GBV, instead of focusing on perpetrators. The DPM, in response, told the senators that initially, she had asked for E15 million to operationalise the strategy successfully, but due to limited funds, she received lesser. The DPM will present a detailed response on Monday.

She appreciated the willingness of the senators to support the strategy. Dladla said as per the senators’ suggestions, coming up with laws, in collaboration with other stakeholders, would help the country to successfully fight GBV.

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