A night vigil was held on Tuesday evening at Wits University for murdered UCT student Uyinene Mrwetyana, where one woman, in light of the hashtag #AmINext, was defiant.Mrwetyana was raped and killed, allegedly by a post office employee, in Cape Town more than a week ago.She was allegedly bludgeoned to death with a scale inside the Clareinch Post Office by a 42-year-old man who worked there.
Speaking at the event inside a candle-lit ring of people that shone out through the darkness, women took turns to voice their fears and condolences for Mrwetyana.Oamogetswe Chikwado, leader of the high school division of the Black Womxn Caucus, described going to university as a “shortcut to death”, saying she was frightened.“Women are disappearing… it’s a norm,” she added, before the crowd responded with chants of: “We will not be next.
Media reports of missing women and children have littered South African news websites, newspapers, television stations and radio broadcasts in recent weeks, once again highlighting the dangers women and children face.