News about South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius, who has been charged with murder after allegedly shooting dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, has left many sports lovers in shock.
Opinion by Ropafadzo Mapimhidze
This incident has also dealt a big blow to the millions of people around the world who are living with disabilities.
They looked up to this personality, who defied all the odds after being amputated from knee downwards when he was a small child. Gun-loving Pistorius, dubbed the “Blade Runner” — for his prosthetic carbon-fibre legs — was alone with blonde Steenkamp when the gunfire erupted inside his tony home around 3am on Thursday.
The double amputee’s alleged murder case has revived the domestic violence debate as it is believed that this young man had had a few encounters related to violence in the recent past.
Pistorius made history at the London Olympics in 2012 when he became the first double-amputee runner to race at the Olympics.
The vicious Valentine’s Day murder has also sent shock waves to people living with violent spouses.
South Africa is a nation that has had a tortured history with race. Like the United States, South Africa has a gun culture. By some estimates, up to six million South African civilians own guns — about 12% of the population. Many of those weapons are unregistered. And of the registered guns, most are justified as a weapon for self-defence.
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It is true that South Africa has a high rate of violent crime. But the fear of crime can verge into paranoia. Weapons are everywhere, and each gun justifies another gun.
Guns are widely used in most common crimes. They are used in 77% of house robberies and 87% of business robberies, and they are the cause of death in more than half of all murders, according to reports by the Daily News website of South Africa.
Last week on Friday, I personally dealt with a case of a woman who is a general cleaner in Eastlea, Harare. Her husband — a taxi driver — had turned her into a punching bag.
The young woman came to our NewsDay offices and said she wanted to leave the man, but added that she earned very little and that she would not be able to find a room to rent on her own.
This woman had a black eye and blood clot patches around her body — a clear indication that she had been savagely beaten.
When I called her husband on his mobile phone and asked him why he was doing this to his wife, he went ballistic. He threatened to beat me as well. “I paid lobola for that woman and police can do nothing to me,” he bellowed.
I then called ZRP national spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba to assist. She gave me two names of policemen at Harare Central Police Station to deal with the matter swiftly.
On Monday this week, the woman is said to have told workmates that her husband was pleading with her to drop the charges, but she has insisted she wants her spouse dealt with by the courts.
A pregnant woman also called me yesterday asking what to do for her husband was beating her daily. The spouse wants her to leave so that he brings another woman.
“He has not paid any lobola, and I have two other children with him. What should I do?”
I advised her to report the matter to the police. The woman lives in Murehwa, while the husband works in Harare. He only goes to Murehwa during weekends or sometimes never at all.
A Midlands State University lecturer is also beating his spouse badly. The woman also called me yesterday morning from Harare. She had initially wanted to have her identity concealed, but she now wants to go public.
It is also very apparent that some affluent women also face these problems. I was very disappointed to learn that some very educated woman, who preaches against domestic violence, is seen running to a police station regularly, to seek refuge. She has never pressed any charges against her spouse.
We will no doubt hear about her death one day because the beatings are sometimes very severe. Guns have been used to settle scores between spouses in Zimbabwe. When a spouse issues a death threat, police should take such issues seriously.
Zimbabwe passed into law the Domestic Violence Act Chapter 5.16 in June 2006 to allow maximum protection for survivors of domestic violence, provide relief to survivors and long-term measures for the prevention of domestic violence.
Zimbabwe also ratified the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and on September 14, 1998, and other regional conventions.
Sadc resolved to adopt measures aimed at enacting laws making various forms of violence against women clearly defined crimes with appropriate penalties in order to prevent and eradicate domestic violence.
Domestic violence is evident in all races, social strata and all communities. There is no doubt that a very thin line divides love and hate.
