Sober judge urges minister to slap warnings on liquor labels, citing clear link between alcohol and GBV

Illustrative image. From Left: Judge Avinash Govindjee. (Photo: Supplied); Graphic. (Photos: iStock); Ntombomzi “Nomirana” Nonze. (Photo: Facebook)

By Estelle Ellis

8 Feb 2025

Judge Avinash Govindjee says alcohol flows through the narrative of too many gender-based violence cases in his courtroom, and he wants the health minister to read his judgment and do something about it.

An Eastern Cape Division of the High Court judge has asked Minister of Health Aaron Motsoaledi to consider adding a warning about domestic violence to the labels on all liquor bottles and cans, including beer.

In the Makhanda high court in January, Judge Avinash Govindjee sentenced local resident Mthuthuzeli Manyathi (38) to 28 years in prison for the brutal murder of his partner, Ntombomzi “Nomirana” Nonze (47).

Then, last week in a second judgment Govindjee again ordered that another ruling be sent to Motsoaledi’s office.

In this case Hendrik Jason Williams was sentenced to 24 years of imprisonment for the rape and murder of his partner.

“Low-income worker + alcohol + a trigger for domestic violence = brutality + intimate femicide. The facts of this matter rehash, like a recurring nightmare, the tragic equation that all too frequently summarises the plight of women in South Africa,” Govindjee said.

In February last year Williams, a farmworker on a farm near Graaff-Reinet, spent the day drinking and then went home. When he realised that his wife was visiting at the farm next door he became jealous and enraged. He went to fetch her and beat her violently, stomped on her head and body and choked her. Other farmworkers carried her home where she later died.

“Study findings have repeatedly confirmed the role of alcohol in intimate partner violence, pointing to the need for dedicated prevention interventions,” he said in his January ruling.

“Cases such as the present one, as well as sexual offence-related cases, including child rape, frequently have alcohol flowing through the narrative as a common theme.

“In terms of the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act, 1972, the minister of health is empowered to make regulations prescribing the way in which any foodstuff, including alcohol, shall be labelled.

“This includes the nature of the information to be reflected on any label, the manner or form in which such information is to be reflected or arranged on the label, and the nature of information which may not be reflected on any label.”

Judge Govindjee pointed out that the minister has made regulations relating to “health messages on container labels of alcoholic beverages, including beer and traditional beer”, but only one of the seven messages contained in the annexure to the regulations deals with violence and crime.

This warning reads: “Alcohol is a major cause of violence and crime.”

The judge continued: “There is no specific reference to the established link between alcohol and gender-based violence, including rape and murder, also in the context of domestic relationships. Furthermore, container labels for alcoholic beverages need only contain one of the seven health messages set out in the annexure to the regulations, in a space one-eighth the total size of the container label.

Illustrative image | From left: Judge Avinash Govindjee. (Photo: Supplied) | Graphic. (Photos: iStock) | Ntombomzi “Nomirana” Nonze. (Photo: Facebook)

“This would appear to me to be wholly inadequate when considering the torrent of cases, including the present, in which alcohol is linked to violence.

“Leaving aside the question whether the chosen form of regulation is adequate for purposes of warning alcohol consumers of the correlation between alcohol, violence and crime, the failure to highlight the link between alcohol and gender-based violence appears to be an omission. In the context of the country’s efforts to address gender-based violence, including intimate femicide, this at least requires proper consideration.

“In the circumstances, the registrar is directed to ensure that a copy of this judgment is made available to the Office of the Minister of Health, drawing attention to this paragraph of the judgment.”

Judge Govindjee pointed out that between 25% and 65% of women in South Africa have reported experiencing physical, sexual or emotional abuse by a current or former partner. “The killing of women by intimate partners is the most extreme form and consequence of violence against women.”

He said expert testimony in another case revealed that intimate femicide was much more common in South Africa compared with other countries, with an average of almost three women killed by their intimate partners per day.

“Some experts have indicated that it is only by addressing the underlying reasons for intimate partner violence that any change in behaviour will occur,” he added.

“The state has certainly tried to stem the tide. The judiciary is equally obliged to play its part in ensuring that prescribed minimum sentences, designed to reflect society’s opprobrium towards murder and attempted murder linked to domestic violence, are not departed from without good reason.”

Lisa Vetten, a well-known activist and researcher in the field of gender-based violence, welcomed the judge’s stance.

“There is not much evidence that warning labels on alcohol works, but I want to applaud him for thinking of ways to fix the system,” she said. Vetten added that the sale of liquor remains poorly regulated in South Africa despite the clear links between alcohol consumption and domestic violence.

Govindjee set out the circumstances that led up to Nonze’s murder in his reasons for the sentence.

Manyathi and Nonze were living together for three years. They were both drunk when they started fighting on 3 December 2023. The fight was triggered by a phone call from an “unknown male caller”. Manyathi then poured the contents of a bottle of brandy over Nonze, broke a glass and stabbed her in the head, face, neck and hands.

“Although angry and under the influence of alcohol, he admitted that he knew what he was doing at the time,” read the judgment.

Six months later, the day of Nonze’s death, Manyathi saw that she had left their home. He was drinking alcohol again and, when she returned, they had another altercation and he pushed her, strangled and beat her.

“The photographs of the body accepted into evidence reflect the horrific effect of [Manyathi’s] actions on Nonze’s head, face and neck. In addition to the severe physical pain that she would have suffered, the inability to breathe would have caused [her] anguish of the mind.

“Having strangled and assaulted Nonze in this manner, Manyathi proceeded to the lounge and continued to speak to her before realising that she was unresponsive and had died. He then covered the body with a blanket and left the house,” Judge Govindjee continued. “The accused felt bad about what he had done, and confessed to his mother and sister some three days later, breaking down and crying, and planning to kill himself rather than go to prison.”

The court heard, however, that Manyathi had tried to evade arrest by hiding in the bush for two hours.

He failed matric and has three children with three women. He worked as a windscreen fitter until November 2023. Nonze, who worked at Rhodes University, became the sole breadwinner in their home. She didn’t have children.

“It may be accepted that Manyathi’s state of mind was affected by his consumption of alcohol and his perceptions that his partner was being unfaithful to him. Rather than being a premeditated act, the mix of the two served as the catalyst for the brutality that followed on both occasions,” said Govindjee.

The Human Sciences Research Council conducted the first study on the prevalence of gender-based violence in South Africa in 2022 and published the results in 2024. It links alcohol use to increased chances of being both a victim and a perpetrator. Male “hazardous alcohol drinkers” were found to have a greater chance of becoming a perpetrator of both physical and sexual violence.

Anelisa Bentele from Isikhalo, an anti-gender-based violence activist group, said although alcohol definitely plays a role in domestic violence, as most perpetrators are drunk when they carry out assaults, patriarchy also plays a role.

“We need to tackle this from the foundation phase. Children have books that teach them that the boy child is superior to the girl child. This fight starts in the education system,” she said.

Bentele added that many children grow up in abusive homes and that some men assault their partners while they are sober as well.

She said the most tragic part of this case was that Nonze had tried to obtain a protection order against Manyathi, but on the day that she had to appear in court for the application, he had already killed her. “I must also tell you that we are not very happy with this sentence. We wanted life imprisonment.”

Daily Maverick approached both the alcohol industry and Minister Motsoaledi for comment, but received none. DM

This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R35.

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