07/01/2026
By Gabriel Manyati
Cordelia Masalethulini did not simply die. She was killed. And more damningly, she was killed in a country that has perfected the art of acting shocked after women are murdered while doing almost nothing to stop it before the blood is spilled.
Her death has been framed as a tragic crime, a shocking headline, a singular horror. That framing is comfortable.
It allows us to isolate the violence, to mourn briefly, to debate motives, to wait for court proceedings, and then to move on. But Cordelia Masalethulini was not an exception. She was an example.