Fikile Mbalula said men must not think that they own women when they buy them gifts.
Friends and family of Nontobeko Cele, whose murder has gone viral on social media, have described her relationship with her boyfriend as toxic.
Cele’s body was found with multiple stab wounds in Umzinto KwaZulu-Natal.
Her fiancé, Sibusiso Lawrence Mtaka, confessed to the murder in a video which trended on social media.
He was found later hanging on a tree on Wednesday morning in the Malangeni area in Umzinto.
Speaking at the memorial service, a woman who introduced herself as Nonjabulo said Mtaka had tried to kill Cele several times before.
ALSO READ: Sibusiso Lawrence tried to kill his girlfriend before, family reveals
Mtaka ‘was a violent man’
She said most of Cele’s friends were also afraid of Mtaka because of his violent nature.
“I want to show all of you here that I’m also scared after being attacked by Sbu,” she said.
Mtaka ‘dragged her like a dog’
Nonjabulo said Mtaka controlled every aspect of Cele’s life to the point where she had no privacy.
She said she was shocked when Cele told her that Ntaka had proposed to marry her.
“I asked her if she was sure about this, and she said she gives everything to God.”
Nonjabulo said Mtaka had no respect for Cele.
“He once dragged her like a dog through the street, and she was pleading with him to stop,” she said.
Nonjabulo said she is unhappy with some of the comments people have made on social media.
In his video, Ntaka alleged that Cele had ruined his life by messing up his relationship with another woman.
He also alleged that Cele had a child with another man, but he accepted the child as his own. Then he spoke about investing a lot of money in Cele.
He complained that Cele wanted to now leave the relationship because she was about to receive her Road Accident Fund (RAF) payout.
The Citizen understands that the payout was for an accident in which Mtaka was involved.
‘Women are not commodities’
On the other hand, the secretary general of the ANC, Fikile Mbalula, said at a media briefing in Johannesburg on Saturday that he is disturbed by how Cele was killed.
He said Gender Based Violence (GBV) is a serious problem that needs to be nibbed in the bud.
However, he said men should not have any expectations when they enter into relationships with women.
“When you buy your woman, your girlfriend, a car and all of that, you think you own that woman when the relationship ends.
“It’s not right. Women are human beings. They are not commodities.”
Mbalula said men should change their commodity and understand that gifting women does not mean they become their partners’ property.
Crime-riddled KZN rocked by another tragic murder
A KZN community where a man tragically killed his girlfriend and young son in a similar incident has been identified as a crime hotspot.
EWN reported that this concern was raised with President Cyril Ramaphosa and his cabinet during a presidential Imbizo in the area last November.
On Friday, 24-year-old Mlondi Cele fatally stabbed his girlfriend and their three-year-old son before taking his own life in Umgababa.
ALSO READ: SA losing fight against GBV as social media justifies murder
