Rampant Violence

By Masedi Mothapo

The author, Dr Masedi Mothapo explicitly shows that the world is more violent than we imagine. It is a language of the discontented, the silenced, neglected, dumb and the unheard. He shows that the weak side of human nature is than we resort to violence whenever things do not go our way. What aggravate matters is than even institutions such as schools and churches which should be centres of comfort and peace are not spared from these atrocities of violence and mayhem. However, the book is spiced with a love scene as Reddy, a young man eventually kneels down to ask Lily to marry him, despite the fact that she had dumped him before.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Masedi Mothapo
• Release date: Nov 19, 2020
• ISBN: 9781005204952

Book preview

Rampant

Violence

Masedi Mothapo

Copyright © 2020 Masedi Mothapo

Published by Masedi Mothapo Publishing at Smashwords

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system without permission from the copyright holder.

The Author has made every effort to trace and acknowledge sources/resources/individuals. In the event that any images/information have been incorrectly attributed or credited, the Author will be pleased to rectify these omissions at the earliest opportunity.

Published by Masedi Mothapo using Reach Publishers’ services,

P O Box 1384, Wandsbeck, South Africa, 3631

Cover designed by Reach Publishers

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Masedi Mothapo

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Chapter 1

Lily knocked and entered without a response to let her in. Yoo! What a gruesome discovery! She was woken from her slumber by the sight of a woman who lay prostrate on the floor in a pool of blood. There was blood everywhere. She was naked and her dress was torn to pieces. The poor girl had left her mother in a happy mood last night when she went out to visit a boyfriend. Violence against women has taken centre stage. The world is rattled when one incident of violence after another takes place. Men have assumed beastly conduct. Are women left behind? It is doubtful. Are children left behind? No! She remembered Sinhle, who killed four of her children by hanging them. Then Mary fed her 11-year-old son soft porridge mixed with pieces of a broken bottle. Many little girls are raped and suffer serious injuries. In some cases, these injuries cause their deaths. Their mothers sob inconsolably with grief – evil days of our times.

Why are men on the rampage? They run amok and cause havoc in families. They abuse women and children left, right and centre. Lily wondered if they were fed up with democracy and advocacy for women’s rights. Are women exacting revenge and getting even with men through some other means due to the equality clause enshrined in the South African Constitution, Act 108 of 1996? She was not sure; neither am I. What I am sure of is that the same Constitution grants every person, foes and friends, equality, human dignity and the right to be free from violence. Nevertheless, violence goes on unabated.

Uyinene Mrwetjana was raped and killed by a post office worker. Pupils stabbed one another at certain schools. Some tiffs arise out of a fight over a girlfriend or boyfriend. Terrible things happen in our homes and schools. We are a society in distress. These children take their example from us. If not, where do they see these atrocities and distress? The dominant narrative is shock and pretence whenever a report on violence is given in the community and media – as if violence started now or yesterday. It did not. It started many moons ago. Perhaps it started from creation or the fall of man. Violence seems to originate from the evil heart of man. Anger, greed and frustration could trigger violence if they are not well managed.

The justice system is part of the problem. Some culprits are incarcerated, yet others survive the full might of the law. They escape through its holes: incompetence of officials, bribery and corruption. If you perform a criminal act and nobody sees you, you are as innocent as an infant; if you commit a crime and nobody wants to come out as a witness, you are released. You go scot free. You are innocent. You can go to heaven. That is how the South African justice system works. People take advantage of its loopholes. In the extreme, 98% of cases, prosecutors, police and lawyers can gang up to beat the system. Because of the flaws in the justice system, many criminals prowl the streets and are ready to pounce at any time. Intelligent lawyers amass a lot of wealth through representation of criminals. They easily see gaps in any case presented in court. They cross-examine a victim until their head aches with a view to create doubt in the veracity of their statements. They cannot help it because they want to put bread on the table, lest their children starve.

But I got angry when one individual said a lawyer told one criminal in front of him after a court hearing that he can go on to rape, he will release him. I asked him whether that lawyer had any daughter who may also suffer the same fate. It will be the day that he will see his foolishness. It is then that he would see his folly of bragging about releasing criminals from jail. He will suffer the same fate one day – a criminal will kill his father in broad daylight and find a legal guru who will also release him. In our country no one is a criminal until he is found guilty in a court of law. It is immaterial whether you saw him with your naked eyes; as long as you come against a smart lawyer who can confuse you with a lot of questions as a victim or witness – and then label you an unreliable witness; it is done. The magistrate then starts to doubt evidence given and the evil man walks out and continues to run amok with new energy. Would you fault the community if they take a tooth for a tooth and a death for death? I don’t think so. Our legal system is warped with interpreters and prosecutors of low quality. One witness says one thing and the interpreter gives a different story in the queen’s language. It is too bad. An interpreter with a simple grade 12 certificate! Shame on the justice system! I also doubt if prosecutors have read enough. I doubt if they have a three-year diploma. That is why the justice system is so corrupt and poor on accountability. Their reliance on corrupt police officers who can easily destroy a docket or throw away data at a certain price from the culprit makes it quite difficult to get convictions. No wonder some police officials are on the payroll of criminals.

Man is essentially evil; if not where does violence come from? Cain killed his brother Abel due to jealousy. God was not happy about his offering or present, but happy with Cain’s. Joseph’s brothers sold him to someone in Egypt because of jealousy – his father loved him more than them. A husband kills his wife due to jealousy when she is in love with another man.

Lily reminisced about violence she had heard and read about. We are living in a world full of challenges which do not have any fixed solutions. Some are difficult to define and contain. The earth is uninhabitable these days. I question myself whether it would not be better to live on another planet. Intensive research is needed to find out if there is indeed no life on Mars and other planets. The earth is scorching hot with problems. According to Violeta Monterroso, in Time magazine of 4-11 February 2019, 258 million migrants abandoned their homes for different reasons: tens of thousands went in search of better jobs or better education or medical care, and tens of millions more had no choice. More than 5.6 million fled the war in Syria, and a million more were in Rohingya, chased from their village in Myanmar. Hundreds of thousands fled their neighbourhoods in Central America and villages in Saharan Africa, driven by poverty and violence.

What has gone wrong with human life? What causes these evil and satanic acts? Is the deep centre of man evil? What breaks families apart? Some people believe violence should be matched with violence. Others believe violence breeds more violence and, as such, should be avoided. Some authors argue that violence is a political question. I did not delve deep to fathom what that means. But there are a number of instances where politicians use ruthless means, including murder and assassination, to protect their positions, access to economic muscle and political gain. I have seen a lot of avarice in politicians – the masters of oratory and lip service.

I had long forgotten about the gruesome murder of a young boy, Matlhomola Moshoeu. The Coligny Afrikaners, Peter Doorewaard and Phillip Schutte, killed the boy for allegedly stealing a sunflower. These Boers equated the price of a sunflower with the life of a human being. The life of an African child is quite cheap. I was forced to look at the tragic incident with racial glasses when a sentence was passed. The wheel of justice grinds disappointingly slowly. Yet, at long last, justice has been done depending on your feelings and views towards the case. Some wished that these felons had been sentenced to life imprisonment. Others thought the sentences of 18 and 23 years to Peter and Phillip respectively sent a message that no one should think he is a god because of his colour, wealth, social standing or political affiliation. It was better than nothing.

Lily felt justice had been done as she also thought of another disgusting crime of one teacher, Josiah, who chopped up a teenage albino girl in Hlalakahle, Emalahlani for ritual purposes. He wanted to become rich possibly; become strong and have dignity and escape jail. Very awkward for a teacher! But teachers are human after all. When you prick them, they feel pain; when you ridicule them, they feel angry and when you tickle them they laugh. They can even rape nowadays.

I am told even pastors use herbs to attract multitudes of congregants to their churches. I wonder whether they are real churches or just cults who thrive on deception, window dressing and witchcraft. They consult traditional healers to covert people! That is nonsense. Such organisations are simple money-making schemes. How do you use muthi to convert someone to Jesus Christ?

You must remember that some murderers get off scot free and evade jail on the basis that the judges found there was not enough evidence. Or the police did shoddy work deliberately when they accumulated evidence. What irritated some of us was the noise of the Agri-Forum members who wanted to appeal the sentence made. They do not want their brothers to serve a term for the life of an African – that’s disgusting. These are some of the experiences that keep the flame of hatred between races burning, regardless of the right of any one or group to lodge an appeal on any ruling.

Life is tough. Let me tell you about the problems in Honduras. The country was at a tipping point with lack of safety and security in 2019 – a mafia state:

One family fled because of hunger.

Patricia fled her country after she was raped and stabbed for reporting a gang murder.

A woman was beaten violently by her husband despite the caesarean operation she had recently had.

One member shot David for getting a job in a factory that was established on a construction site controlled by a rival gang.

I was never good in Geography when I was still a pupil. I never understood what they meant when they said the earth was round. Therefore, I did not know where to find Honduras on the map. I thought it might be in Europe or North America where they never fight for crumbs that fall from the White man’s mouth around the table. Europeans looted resources from Africa. They never go hungry.

Conflict and wars are part of Africa and the Middle East. The latter fights their own battles around religion and meddling in their affairs by Western powers. But Africa’s conflict revolves around hunger and avarice – the fight for survival. Whoever finds the loot wants to keep it for themselves and their family. Whoever finds the loot wants to be a god.

Honduras is found in Central America – one of the poorest countries in Latin America. It is notorious for gang violence, trafficking, street crime, rape and armed robbery. It has one of the highest murder rates in the world. Half of the population lives in poverty, despite its rich natural resources, which include minerals, coffee, tropical fruits, sugar cane and a textile industry which serves international markets – another example of the bad effects of colonisation.

Lily tried to sleep in the evening, but in vain. She remembered another story that circulated in the media in 2018. The story alleged that taxi violence contributed a large percentage to violence in South Africa. She did not know for sure what led Vusi to surrender himself to the police after being on the run for some time. He was suspected of murder and being a mastermind of violence and extortion in the taxi industry. It is alleged that if you were in business in Mamelodi, you needed his protection. He had become a god. He demanded R200 per week if you were a taxi owner, and R500 per month for spaza shops.

One business man intimated that he tried to extort R150,000 for his projects. These are people who feed on violence. Of great concern was