MAKHANDA, EASTERN CAPE - Basic Education Minister, Siviwe Gwarube, has called for the mandatory screening of all school staff against the sexual offenders register.
This follows the rape of 7-year-old Cwecwe in the Eastern Cape.
Gwarube delivered the keynote address at the Uyinene Mrwetyana commemorative lecture in Makhanda, honouring the 24-year-old who was raped and murdered in Claremont, Cape Town, in 2019.
"It cannot be that their parents are sending their children to school only to be violated in the way that Cwecwe was. And so I'm encouraged by the fact that the province is taking the matter up. They have sought to deregister the school as an independent school," explained Gwarube.
Amidst the memorial lecture for her daughter, Uyinene Mrwetyana's mother, Nomangwane Mrwetyana joined Kingswood College pupils in song, a poignant moment of remembrance
Uyinene's mother shared a message of support for the family of 7-year-old Cwecwe.
"We stand with you. We understand the trauma that you are going through. We understand the pain. We understand the frustration and the disappointment in our government systems," she said.
Six years later, Uyinene's mother says the pain of losing her daughter still cuts deep.
By: Aviwe Mtila