For Ms Ntompela Bhengu, a Magistrate at Ixopo Magistrate’s Court and a former Public Prosecutor with years of legal experience, pursuing a Master of Laws (LLM) was not only a strategic career move but also a journey driven by her curiosity about traditional leadership – which she explored in her dissertation titled “The Role of Izinduna and Amakhosi in Eradicating Domestic and Gender-Based Violence”.
‘When I started presiding over Family Court cases, I often heard compelling accounts from litigants about how traditional leaders creatively resolved disputes in their communities,’ said Bhengu.
‘They would speak passionately about practical solutions dispensed by traditional leaders in resolving their disputes. But, when it comes to domestic violence-related disputes, the same traditional leaders would insist that they should approach the magistrate’s court for solutions.’
Her study was supervised by Mr Siyabonga Sibisi and Dr Khulekani Khumalo, following the untimely passing of her original supervisor, Professor Aifheli Tshivhase.
The study explored the role that could be played by traditional leaders in eradicating domestic and gender-based violence (GBV) in rural areas, examined through the lens of the Domestic Violence Act 116 of 1998, as amended in April 2023.
‘The focus was on the role traditional leaders could play if granted the authority to issue interim protection orders under the Domestic Violence Act within their traditional courts,’ said Bhengu.
‘Domestic violence and GBV know no boundaries – they occur behind high walls in leafy suburbs and behind closed doors in rural rondavels,’ she explained.
Bhengu added that her findings revealed rural women were disproportionately vulnerable to domestic and gender-based violence.
‘While there are some barriers and challenges limiting victims from rural areas access to justice, there is untapped potential in the form of traditional leaders and traditional courts that offer unlimited access to justice. It is this untapped potential that motivated me to explore how traditional leaders can best serve and protect rural victims of domestic and gender-based violence should they be given authority in terms of Section 5(2) of the Domestic Violence Act to issue interim protection orders as an interdict to immediately stop acts of such violence in their traditional court.
‘I am really thankful to my husband and six beautiful children for their support throughout this journey,’ said Bhengu.
Words: Thandiwe Jumo
Photograph: Sethu Dlamini