Protection orders defied: Two Hopetown GBVF offenders sentenced
One offender was jailed and the other received a suspended sentence.
Image: Morgan Morgan / DALL·E / DFA
TWO HOPETOWN residents have been convicted and sentenced in separate gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) cases, thanks to swift police action and thorough investigation by the local Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) unit.
Northern Cape police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Sergio Kock confirmed that the first incident occurred on February 24, 2025, when 27-year-old Lorenzo Kani assaulted and attempted to stab his 25-year-old girlfriend in front of his sister, 47. The sister immediately alerted police, and Kani later pleaded guilty. He was sentenced to three years’ direct imprisonment for contravening a protection order and assault common, and was declared unfit to possess a firearm.
In the second case, on May 13, 2025, 23-year-old Beronique Olyn was arrested after displaying “riotous and aggressive” behaviour towards her parents and child. She appeared in the Hopetown Magistrate’s Court, where she was found guilty of contravening a protection order. Olyn received an 18-month prison sentence, wholly suspended for five years, and was also declared unfit to possess a firearm.
The Northern Cape SAPS management praised the work of Detective Warrant Officer Paul Schoeman and Sergeant Frans Louw, whose investigations, together with prosecutor Advocate Nicola van Niekerk, secured the convictions.
Lieutenant-Colonel Kock said the police are committed to fighting GBVF and domestic violence, ensuring justice for victims in the province.
DID YOU KNOW?
According to the South African Police Service, gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) is not limited to abuse between romantic partners. It also covers any form of violence, abuse, or intimidation within a domestic or family setting, whether the victim is a partner, parent, child, or other household member.
Police classify a case as GBVF when:
- The incident occurs in a domestic or family environment.
- It involves physical, emotional, or verbal abuse.
- A protection order is contravened.
In the case above, the offence involved aggressive behaviour towards close family members and a child, with a court-issued protection order in place — placing it squarely within the GBVF category under police definitions.