The Southern African Alcohol Policy Alliance (SAAPA) applauds the firm stance taken by Judge Avinash Govindjee in delivering harsh sentences to two men convicted of murdering their partners in the Eastern Cape. SAAPA also strongly supports the judge’s call for the Minister of Health, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, to implement mandatory health warnings on all alcohol products—following Irelands’s lead, where such measures were introduced in 2023.
During sentencing, Judge Govindjee urged the Health Minister to mandate domestic violence warnings on all liquor product labels, including beer. He cited the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics, and Disinfectants Act of 1972, which empowers the Health Minister to regulate labelling for all consumable products, including alcohol.
Section 15 of the Act, specifically addresses the issue of health warning labels, which was amended in 2005. A health warning shall be visible, legible, and indelible and the legibility thereof shall not be affected by any other matter, printed or otherwise. [Section 15 of the Act: https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/201409/27236c.pdf]
The judge starkly illustrated the recurring link between alcohol and gender-based violence (GBV), stating: “Low-income worker + alcohol + a trigger for domestic violence = brutality + intimate femicide. This keeps playing out like a recurring nightmare, summarising the plight of women in South Africa” (Daily Maverick).
SAAPA has long advocated for tougher alcohol regulations and urges the South African government to implement a comprehensive strategy to reduce alcohol-related harm. This should include mandatory health warnings on labels and a density clause to limit the concentration of liquor outlets in communities.
“International and local research shows that alcohol is a key driver of violence, including intimate partner violence, non-intimate partner violence, murder, sexual abuse, and rape,” says Aadielah Maker-Diedericks, General Secretary of SAAPA.
She further highlights that the widespread presence of both licensed and unlicensed alcohol outlets (density) operating beyond legal hours – due to inadequate inspections by liquor boards and municipal officers and non-enforcement by SAPS -only worsens the situation. [See link to our recent study: https://saapa.africa/mapping-alcohol-outlet-density-and-outlet-trading-times-in-two-south-african-communities-a-community-centred-approach/]
Judge Govindjee highlighted that while existing health warnings on alcohol products are in place, they fail to explicitly link alcohol consumption to gender-based violence, including rape and murder. SAAPA fully supports this assessment, particularly in light of the recently released First South African Gender-Based Violence Report (2024), which reinforces the urgent need for action.
SAAPA commends the judiciary’s leadership and urges the South African government and its SADC partners to take decisive action by introducing comprehensive health warnings on all alcohol products. The time for change is now.
ENDS
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