Cape Forum protests against bail for slasher who slit wife’s throat

The civil rights organisation Cape Forum and community members today protested in front of the Athlone Magistrate’s Court in Cape Town against bail for alleged throat slasher Arthur Sass who is accused of stabbing his wife, Genevieve Snyders, in the chest and slitting her throat on 28 November.

Snyders was at a store to buy food for her child when she was attacked. The accused is allegedly also wanted since 2008 in connection with the murder of his former wife. He was arrested on Wednesday.

Cape Forum protested in front of the court today with posters bearing slogans such as “Justice 4 Genevieve #NO BAIL”, “Silence is violence” and “Away with GBV”.

According to Bernard Pieters, Manager of Community Activation at Cape Forum, any form of gender-based violence must be strongly condemned and eradicated. In addition, he argues that the devolution of policing power to provincial level and the establishment of a specialist unit to investigate gender-based violence are essential to tackle this problem.

“Crime is one of the biggest obstacles to economic progress in South Africa. It is especially deplorable when families, which are the building blocks of any stable society, suffer from violence against women. This is tragic moral decay in the worst form,” says Pieters.

Cape Forum has already entered into several partnerships to tackle the pandemic of gender-based violence in Cape communities. An example of this is the collaboration with the Mossel Bay soup kitchen, which is run by ex-soldier William Sam. Victims of gender-based violence form a support network here where they share their experiences with each other and also find healing through community work.

The bail application was postponed to 14 December. Sass remains in custody.