By Mapaballo Borotho
- A 24-year-old traffic warden was allegedly stabbed to death by her boyfriend in Eersterust.
- The DA says reports that a previous GBV-related case was never finalised raise serious concerns about failures in the criminal justice system.
- The party is calling for stronger intervention in repeat domestic violence cases and greater accountability from SAPS.
As the country commemorates Women’s Month, Gauteng has once again been struck by a painful reminder that women are still in danger in South Africa following the brutal killing of a young woman in Eersterust, Pretoria.
Taymin Platt was reportedly stabbed to death by her 25-year-old boyfriend on Saturday, 1 August 2026.
According to Gauteng police, 24-year-old Platt was sitting with her friends at a flat in Eersterust when her boyfriend arrived.
An argument allegedly broke out before she was stabbed.
This brutal murder is yet another reminder of the devastating toll that gender-based violence (GBV) and femicide continue to exact on women in Gauteng.
Even more devastating are allegations that the tragedy may have been preventable.
Reports suggest that a previous gender-based violence-related case involving the 24-year-old had been opened but was never finalised.
“If confirmed, this would point to a fatal failure by the SAPS and the criminal justice system to protect a woman who was clearly vulnerable and at risk. This is not merely a failure of process; it is a failure that has cost a woman her life,” said DA Member of Parliament Crezane Bosch.
Calls for justice
The Democratic Alliance (DA), which is part of the Government of National Unity (GNU), is calling for a swift investigation and prosecution of all gender-based violence and femicide cases, improved intervention in repeat domestic violence cases, and greater accountability within the South African Police Service (SAPS) when the system fails victims it is meant to protect.
Bosch said every time warning signs are ignored, protection orders are not effectively enforced, cases are not properly investigated, or dangerous offenders are released, the state fails in its constitutional duty to protect the most vulnerable.
“The consequences are measured in lives lost,” she added.
Meanwhile, the African National Congress (ANC) in the City of Tshwane condemned the murder.
ANC Greater Tshwane regional secretary George Matjila described Plat as a dedicated Gauteng traffic warden stationed with the Cable Theft Unit of the Tshwane Automobile Special Economic Zone.
Matjila said the killing of Platt at the beginning of Women’s Month underscores the ongoing crisis of GBV in SA, where women remain most vulnerable to those who should protect them.
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