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Burned and Betrayed: Vosman Women Die After GBV Horror in Mpumalanga

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2 months ago

August 4, 2025

Chiraag

Mpumalanga murder charges, Vosman GBV outrage, GBV crisis South Africa, Ilitha Labantu response, SA femicide rate 2025, gender violence court case, young women killed in Vosman, Joburg ETC

As South Africa marks Women’s Month, a violent double tragedy in Vosman reignites urgent calls to end gender-based violence

Two young women from Vosman, Mpumalanga, have died after being set alight in a horrifying gender-based violence (GBV) attack that has shocked the nation and reignited fury over South Africa’s femicide crisis.

The victims, aged 21 and 23, succumbed to burn wounds sustained during the brutal attack on 23 July. Police confirmed that the 21-year-old woman passed away on Sunday, 3 August, and her 23-year-old relative died on Friday, 1 August.

The alleged perpetrator, a 35-year-old man who is the father of the younger woman’s children, was arrested on the same night of the attack. His charges have now been escalated from attempted murder to murder. He is expected to appear in the Emalahleni Magistrate’s Court on Thursday, 7 August.

A shocking crime during a month meant to honour women

The attack happened just after 6 pm on a Wednesday evening. According to police, the man set fire to the mother of his children at a home in Vosman. When her 23-year-old cousin tried to intervene, she too was doused with flammable liquid and burned. A community member rushed both women to the hospital, but neither survived their injuries.

“This isn’t just another GBV case. It’s an act of pure cruelty and betrayal,” said one resident who knew the victims. “They were young, kind, and didn’t deserve to die this way.”

“We are tired of mourning,” Public outrage swells

The double tragedy has stirred deep emotions across the country, especially during Women’s Month, a time meant to celebrate the achievements and resilience of South African women.

“It’s devastating,” said Siyabulela Monakali of Ilitha Labantu, a leading anti-GBV organisation. “This is the very month we’re supposed to be uplifting women, and instead we’re burying them.”

Monakali said that South Africa’s femicide rate remains one of the highest in the world, five times the global average. “These aren’t just statistics. These are real women, killed by people they trusted. The brutality is unbearable.”

He called on government and stakeholders to move beyond symbolic gestures and implement serious, long-term solutions. “We cannot normalise this. We cannot perform outrage once a year and then go back to business as usual. Women in South Africa are not safe, and that should shame us all.”

A justice system under pressure

While the suspect awaits his next court appearance, community members and rights organisations are demanding swift legal action and harsher consequences for perpetrators of GBV.

“Enough is enough,” said Monakali. “Until women are truly safe from violence, we cannot claim to be building a just or equal society.”