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Press Statement, 10 February 2022

NUM National Women Structure saddened by the brutal killing of Lebo Monene, an assistant nurse at Tembisa Hospital

The National Union of Mineworkers  (NUM) National Women Structure is saddened and highly appalled by the brutal killing of Lebo Monene, an assistant nurse at Tembisa Hospital, by an alleged so-called boyfriend who happens to be a police officer.

The shooting and killing of Monene adds to the daily increasing number of gruesome Gende-Based Violence and Harassment (GBVH) South Africa is experiencing.

The murder of an Assistant Nurse by her Police boyfriend at Tembisa Hospital brings an awakening reality that enough and proper work is not been done at various places of work.

Lebo Monene was a member in good standing of our sister union in Cosatu, the Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (DENOSA)

As the NUM National Women Structure we commit to a stand that says employers should provide a safe working space free of harassment and gender based violence.

Waking up to such terrible news and reality of one of our own woman murdered raises questions of whether the country was doing enough to really protect us as women, particular women at work places.

As such, the NUM Women Structure takes this opportunity to make a call upon each South African citizen to work on preventative initiatives that look at how GBV can be prevented.

Though we are of the view that some strides and interventions have been made before, but clearly with such daily increases of GBVH cases reported, we are nowhere close to winning the fight.

It is clear that Gender-Based Violence disproportionately affects women and girls, both employed or not employed. It is systemic and deeply entrenched in many institutions.

Equally that on an individual level, GBV leads to psychological trauma, and can have psychological, behavioural and physical consequences for survivors.

In many parts of the country, there is poor access to formal psychosocial or even medical support which means that many survivors are unable to access the help they need.

The GBVH is a monster that we daily live with and has to be attacked at every given second and not only in the 16 Days of Activism period between November and December.

This could be one of the reasons the NUM Women Structure has pledged to adopt the lifestyle of breaking down GBVH and making it non-fashionable, and condemning all elements of GBVH in workplaces, communities and families.

This heartless monster should remain guilty until proven innocent by the courts of law. .

The NUM National Women Structure calls for the state not to grant bail to this heartless monster. #JusticeforLeboMonene.

The NUM National Women Structure conveys its deepest condolences to the family of comrade Lebo Monene, colleagues, friends and our sister union DENOSA.

May her soul rest in eternal peace.

For more detailed information, please contact:

Mathapelo Khanye, NUM National Women's Structure National Secretary, 064 051 3904/082 561 2010