ANCWL welcomes Pistorius conviction
The ANC Women’s League has welcomed the Supreme Court of Appeal ruling convicting Oscar Pistorius of the model’s murder.
The fallen Olypian and Paralympian shot and killed his girlfriend Reeva on Valentines Day two years ago and had claimed he had mistook her for an intruder.
On Thursday the Supreme Court set aside Pistorius’s conviction on culpable homicide and instead found him guilty of murder. He is presently on correctional supervision.
The ANCWL said late on Thursday that it “commends and welcomes the Supreme Court of Appeal ruling against Mr Oscar Pistorius, given the high levels of intimate partner violence”.
The women’s league said the ruling by the Supreme Court “will restore the hope” of many South African women who are victims of violence.
“The ruling is most welcomed and it could not have come at a better time than during the commemoration of 16 days campaign of no violence against women and children. We trust that the appropriate sentence will now be applied by the courts given that Mr Pistorius is guilty of murder,” said ANCWL President Bathabile Dlamini.
“We continue to urge women to report all forms of abuse because we have seen that we have a working justice system. We wish to also commend the members of the prosecution in this case for remaining resolute and displaying their commitment to fighting all forms of violence against women,”
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