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Jan 22, 2025 | 
citizen.co.za | Monique Botha
Taking home a newborn is an unforgettable moment for most families, but for one family, it took 17 years to take their baby home. Zephany Nurse was born on 28 April 1997 to parents Morné and Celeste Nurse. Three days later, she was kidnapped from her crib next to her mother’s bed in the Groote Schuur Hospital. For 17 years, the case mostly stayed dormant. Every year, the Nurse parents held a birthday party for their missing daughter, hoping that she would someday be returned to them.
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Dec 2, 2024 | 
citizen.co.za | Monique Botha
I’ve read many different articles trying to find the most dangerous city in the world. Business Tech reports that Pietermaritzburg is the most dangerous city in the world, and it’s only a two-hour drive from us. I’ve already written about a mass murder that took place in Pietermaritzburg last year, but this city also had councillors and traditional healers murdered, and in this crime hot spot, people were seen burnt alive.
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Nov 19, 2024 | 
citizen.co.za | Monique Botha
On October 9 2022, a beautiful girl went missing in Benoni. Eight days later, her mutilated body was found. Her family was left heartbroken forever. Bokgabo Diseko Poo was only four years old when she was lured away from a park where she was playing with her friends. Her body was later found, but only parts of it, leaving her family searching for closure. Ntokozo Khulekani Zikhali was out on bail awaiting his trial for allegedly raping a nine-year-old girl.
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Nov 9, 2024 | 
citizen.co.za | Monique Botha
I have written before about how men are generally more aggressive than women. This is true; however, it’s also true that ‘hell hath no fury like a woman scorned’, famously coined by author William Congreve. In 2013, a 21-year-old woman appeared in a Johannesburg court after cutting off her boyfriend’s private parts. She walked in on him with another woman and made sure that it would never happen again. A 5-year-old girl was found murdered in Port Elizabeth in 2019.
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Nov 3, 2024 | 
citizen.co.za | Monique Botha
A mass murder can be defined as the killing of three or more people at one time and in one location. This is a disaster that we used to associate with other countries or the TV shows we watch, but mass killings have been occurring in South Africa for decades. For some reason, though, it seems that this trend is increasing. A family of five was killed in a village in Mthatha last year.
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Oct 29, 2024 | 
citizen.co.za | Monique Botha
Anika Smit was a 17-year-old schoolgirl who, on March 10, 2010, stayed home from school due to an ear infection. At 09:00, she spoke to her mom on the phone, and by 11:00, she was dead. Her father, Johan Smit, had arranged with the local pharmacy to deliver medicine for Anika at their home. The pharmacy informed Anika’s father that they could not provide the medicine as she didn’t respond and that the gate was unlocked, but the dogs were outside, running around the house.
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Oct 24, 2024 | 
citizen.co.za | Monique Botha
Nkosinathi Phakathi, dubbed the Benoni Serial Rapist, was sentenced to 42 life sentences, 791 years, and six months in prison. He pleaded guilty to 148 charges, which included 90 counts of rape. Research indicates that men rape to gain power; it makes them feel important. There are different reasons why a person would need this power – being rejected multiple times, childhood traumas, alcohol and substance abuse, to name a few. Rape is also easier in South Africa.
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Oct 12, 2024 | 
citizen.co.za | Monique Botha
I killed my son. I had no other choice. This is the unfortunate story of Ellen Pakkies. She was born without a name, abused from the age of four, kidnapped and gang-raped as a young girl. Ellen survived all these things, got married, and had three sons. Unbelievably, her biggest tragedy was still to come. Despite all her tragedies, Ellen was a loving mother and pillar in her community. But, there is only so much a mother can take. Ellen’s son Abie was born into this abuse.
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Oct 4, 2024 | 
citizen.co.za | Monique Botha
Contract killings are not just something we watch on crime shows. Rather, this has become quite common in South Africa. Getting rid of someone without getting your hands dirty has become the solution for many, and it doesn’t break the bank. Ordering a hit on your spouse could cost as little as R2600, although high-profile and political hits can be quite expensive, according to crime studies. Kiernan Forbes, known as AKA, was shot dead last year outside a restaurant in Durban.
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Sep 25, 2024 | 
citizen.co.za | Monique Botha
Victimology is a term used to describe a person who has become a victim of a crime. There are different types of victimologies and different focuses. Let’s explore. If a person is raped, they become the victim. The victim’s age, race, financial status, gender and area of residence is the victimology of the person. With some crimes, like rape, there is a stigma attached. No one wants to be a victim of a crime, but it will be easier to report a car theft than to report a sexual assault.
