Ntobeko Cele's life was cruelly snatched from her by her husband Sibusiso Lawrence. Calls for justice for the young woman are rising and driving public discourse about gender-based violence.
Image: X (Twitter)
In a viral video posted on Tuesday, December 17, Sibusibo Lawrence Ntaka confessed to killing his wife Ntobeko Cele.
He justified the alleged murder and left her lifeless body which he posted on Facebook in his car, and he later died by suicide near the horrific scene.
Calls for justice for the 25-year-old woman are rising on social media, with netizens using the #SayHerName to spread the message.
Many have denounced the circulation of her body and are posting different pictures of Cele, smiling and seemingly happy.
Ntaka's alleged crime was flagrant, and shocking even by South Africa's standard as the country has a staggering gender-based violence (GBV) rate. His reasoning behind the savage act has left a bitter taste in many activists' mouths.
Women For Change said: "We are deeply disturbed that the perpetrator felt confident enough to share his gruesome act on social media. We are heartbroken over the loss of such a beautiful soul and the deep trauma inflicted on her loved ones. Fly high, Sister. #SayHerName."
Others have expressed that such a crime does not occur in a vacuum but is supported and enabled by a society that has an innate disregard for women's lives.
"Men in South Africa truly hate us. We are hunted down and gutted like animals. We are truly in peril because of men. This is why I will never birth children," a woman posted on X(Twitter).
Another claimed that the thread of GBV is a spectrum, running from instances such as having Chris Brown who has been convicted and accused of GBV and rape to abject murder of women and children.
She said that the minor infractions lead to the justification and normalisation of GBV.
"Public support of men like Chris Brown is what leads to the actions of men like Sibusiso Lawrence btw (by the way), everyone who was at that concert this weekend has contributed to the GBV rate in this country."
However, she received backlash with many (men) arguing that they should not be painted with the same brush. One reply reads: "I went to that concert now go open a case."
In the debate, other X users said many lack comprehension and nuance when it comes to GBV.
Phumzile Van Damme added to the discourse, posting that Sibusiso Lawrence is neither an anomaly, an exception, or particularly unique.
"Sibusiso is a symptom of a great societal disease. 60% of women in South Africa are killed by intimate partners...Sibusiso is not a 'monster'.
"He is the men that one in three women have reported experiencing physical or sexual violence from a partner. He is many fathers, brothers, uncles, cousins, and neighbours who are abusers. And whose actions are often met with secrecy or a blind eye, and when they eventually murder, hands wrung in shock like the signs were not there," said Van Damme.
Conversely, others have put the blame on Cele. "Please send me links of the Sibusiso Lawrence story. I need them to educate my girls on the consequences of being a bad woman and the dangers that lie in having a man in your life."
Another said to hell with this 'GBV sh*t'. "It is one sided. Men are suffering too! Women do as they please because laws are on their side, enough with this sh*t"
Minister of Police, Senzo Mchunu condemned the crime. "This shocking incident is a grim reminder of the ongoing scourge of GBV in our society.
"Such acts of violence are a betrayal of our shared humanity and have no place in our nation. Furthermore, the use of social media to amplify such cruelty is utterly unacceptable and reflects a disregard for basic decency and the dignity of others," Mchunu said.
IOL
Ntobeko Cele's life was cruelly snatched from her by her husband Sibusiso Lawrence. Calls for justice for the young woman are rising and driving public discourse about gender-based violence.
Image: X (Twitter)