Chapter 122: A South African Champion Silenced-The Murder of Leighandre 'Baby Lee' Jegels

WEBVTT

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Every story has a beginning, but not everyone has an ending.

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In the shadows of headlines and buried police reports lay

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the voices of the missing, the murdered, and the forgotten,

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waiting to be heard and have their stories told. This

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is the Book of the Dead, a true crime podcast

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where we remember forgotten victims of heinous crimes, reopen cold cases,

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re visit haunting disappearances, and uncover the truths buried beneath

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the years of silence. I'm your host, Courtney Liso, and

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every week we turn to another chapter, one victim, one mystery,

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one step closer to justice. Brought to you by Darkast

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Network INDEP Podcasts with the Twist.

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Hi everyone, I'm Cindy, the host of True Crime California,

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a weekly podcast about murders and other true crime that

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takes place in the Great Golden State. Join me every

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week as I talk about a new case, some very

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well known and others not so well known, but always

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Hello, Hello, Welcome to the next chapter in the Book

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to Dead. There are countless sports around the world where

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women's participation is either not encouraged or it's not taken seriously.

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For example, there are those that do not consider women's

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basketball a quote real sport. While female athletes have made

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great strides in being recognized for their athletic abilities over

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the last few decades, there are those that have not

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acknowledged women in traditionally male dominated fields until the last

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ten or fifteen years, even though there are women who

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have been dominating their respective industries per far longer. Specifically,

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I mean women in boxing. Boxing has long been considered

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a male specific sport, and anyone could see why. It

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involves a lot of power. It's a violent and dangerous

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sport and not one that many would consider a woman

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capable of excelling in. Women were unable to train seriously

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to enter the ring until the nineteen seventies, even though

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women have been documented as participating in amateur fights as

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far back as the seventeen hundreds, and they were featured

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as a display event in the nineteen Zeo for Olympics. However,

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boxing did not truly start becoming more accessible for female

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fighters until the nineteen eighties, when women submitted gender discrimination

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lawsuits against organizations like the Golden Globs Tournament arguing for

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the right for women to participate in amateur matches. By

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nineteen ninety three onward, the US and other European nations

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sanctioned women's amateur boxing and they were permitted to compete

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in tournaments, though women's boxing was not recognized as an

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Olympic sport until the two thousand and eight Olympic Games

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in Beijing, one hundred and four years after men's boxing

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was introduced in the Games. As women's boxing, both professional

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and amateur, has evolved over the decades, there are various

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women who have helped shape the sport as we know

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it today and have excelled in being a reckoning force

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with in the ring. Women like Leila Ali, Christy Martin,

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Lucia Reischker, and Katie Taylor helped propel women's boxing from

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a novelty to a sport finally beginning to be taken

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seriously and inspiring young women and girls to recognize and

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build upon their own strength and capabilities. One such woman

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who was just starting her career being recognized for her

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skill in the ring by the likes of Floyd Mayweather

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and was set to participate in international matches, her eyes

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on making her family and her home in South Africa,

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proud when her life was taken from her by the

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very man she begged police to protect her from. This

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is the murder of Leandra baby Lee Yehls. Leandre Yehils

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was born on February sixth, nineteen ninety four, in East London,

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in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, to Ansel and

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Rita Yehols. From the moment she was born, she was

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a fighter, born two months premature and weighing only one

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point five kilograms or just over three pounds. Though she

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was so small and struggled to feed, she would ultimately

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thrive and indicator that she was far stronger than anyone

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could have ever realized. She was the youngest of three children,

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and from a young age she excelled in her studies

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and athletics. She was consistently at the top of her class,

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balancing her coursework with her countless extracurricular activities. When Leandre

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was ten years old, according to Katee Town Girls, she

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began training in karate and she thrived. She went on

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to earn her black belts and held the national Karate

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Champion title for four years straight from two thousand and

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nine to twenty twelve. Also in twenty twelve, she graduated

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from high school again at the top of her class,

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and went on to get her Bachelor's of Science and

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Education degree from the University of Fort Hare. After university,

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Leandra became a primary school teacher, but she was still

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incredibly passionate about karate. However, as much as she loved it,

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she did want a new challenge. While at Fort Hare,

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boxing promoter and Deile Sidinile saw Leandra practicing her karate

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at the university's boxing gym and admired her clear talent,

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which was so apparent at just nineteen years old. And

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Delay urged Leandre to consider making the transition to boxing,

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an idea her father, Ansel, was not thrilled with, but

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at the encouragement of her mother, Leandra agreed to try

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it out. According to an article for Iowel, Leandre told

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and Delay quote, just one fight. If I like it,

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I'll do it. That one fight open Leandre's eyes a

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whole new world. She loved boxing, but not only that.

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She was a phenomenal fighter. In just two years, Leandra

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catapulted herself from an amateur boxer just starting out to

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an honordefeated champion, winning all nine of her fights from

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twenty sixteen to twenty seventeen. In June of twenty sixteen,

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she won the South African Junior Bantomweight championship at twenty

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two years old, dominating against her more experienced opponent. With

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her journey to a global title well within her horizons,

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she told News twenty four quote, I am extremely happy

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with the way my boxing career is shaping up. Not

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so long ago, I was an unknown contender in the ratings,

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and now I'm a national champion. My aim is to

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punch my way into winning the world belt championship. She

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also credited much of her success to her new trainer,

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boy Boy Mpulampula, who took her on as a mentee

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after she cut ties with her last trainer, former International

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Boxing Federation Junior featherweight champion, Vollani Bungu the previous November.

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She said, I'm a pull and Pula he helped me

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with the psychological aspects, like believing in myself so as

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to get motivated for the fight. This helped me win.

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I believe this will lead me to being crowned the

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world queen soon. Her clear potential attracted attention from boxing

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legends all over the world, and in twenty seventeen, she

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was invited to Las Vegas by Floyd Mayweather to train

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at his gym, an opportunity Leandra couldn't pass up. After

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training and sparring with boxing legends in Vegas, she returned

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home excited for her next fight, though Leandra also had

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something else to look forward to a new relationship. In

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twenty eighteen, when she was twenty four years old, Leandre

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was training her local gym when she met thirty six

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year old Bulilani Mayanka, a police officer who was as

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dedicated to the sport as she was, though he was

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twelve years her senior. They bonded over their love of

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boxing and karate, and Leandra was impressed with Bulilani's focus

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and hard work ethic. When Leandro and Bulilani started dating,

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the Yechels had some concerns about the relationship. They worried

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about the age gap between the two and also found

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the comments he made where he seemed to be proud

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of people he had killed in the line of duty troubling. However,

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Leandre assured her parents that she really liked Bulilani, and

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since their daughter had always displayed very good judgment and

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trusted her instincts. They relented and supported her new relationship.

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Bulailani at first seemed very encouraging of Leandra's dedication not

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only to training but to her job as a teacher,

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and they even moved in together. But soon the facade

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started to crack and a darker side of him started

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to show. Pretty quickly, Leandre's relationship devolved into something terrifying.

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Bulilani was manipulative and controlling, taking Leandra's bank card, refusing

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to allow her to drive her car, and took over

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every aspect of her life until she was let go

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from her job. According to an interview Rita Yehls did

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with The Daily Dispatch, he was also incredibly violent, not

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only psychologically abusing Leandra, but sexually and physically abusing her

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as well. On the rare occasions that the two would

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visit on DeLay's boxing gym, he said he noticed that

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Leandre would be quote shaking in his company. I knew

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something wasn't right. Finally, after months of abuse, Leandra was

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able to find the courage to tell on Delay and

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her parents what was going on in her relationship. The

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threats to take her life at least once made in

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the presence of her parents. The beatings the control all

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of it, and Leandro was urged to take out an

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order of protection against Bulilani. After months of enduring abuse

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at the hands of her partner, Leandra went to the

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police and filed the order of protection. According to an

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interview on Selenriita gave to SABC News, the police were

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less than accommodating about serving Bulilani with the order. Rita

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said when they arrived at the station, the officer, who

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was a female, seemed reluctant to bring the papers to

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Bulilani as he was currently working and didn't want to

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embarrass him, so the officer called him to inform Bulilani

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who was being served. This infuriated the Yehls, as the

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threats Bulilani had made against Leandre had become increased terrifying.

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Ansel said, quote, this guy threatened her prior and he

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said he will kill her and himself. After he said

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if he can't have her, no one will. One would

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hope that based on the information the Yahals provided to

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get the order of protection, the police would do something productive.

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In response, Ansel said that he had hoped Bulilani's superiors

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would at minimum relieve him of his weapon and perhaps

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put him on desk duty or provide him with some

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sort of counseling, But Bulilani was permitted to continue working

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out on the streets with the gun and seemed to

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have no sort of restrictions placed on him to make

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sure people were kept safe. Unfortunately, the situation Leandre was experiencing,

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with the police's lack of initiative in helping her, as

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well as the domestic violence situation itself, was not abnormal.

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South Africa, while ab beautiful country with the robust wildlife,

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stunning beaches and vineyards, and a vibrant culture, is also

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a country with the highest rates of gender based violence

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in femicide. In a study presented by doctor napum Milelo Zungo,

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who is the Strategic Lead in the Public Health Society's

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and Belonging Research Division of the Human Sciences Research Council,

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during the twenty twenty four to sixteen Days of Activism campaign,

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it was found that thirty three point one percent of

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all women aged eighteen years or older had experienced physical

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violence in their lifetime. If you break this percentage into

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a number based on South Africa's population. This is estimated

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to be seven million, three hundred and ten thousand, three

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hundred and eighty nine women who have endured violence, regardless

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of their relationship status. Lifetime physical violence was higher among

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Black Africas women and higher among women who were not

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married but living with their partners compared to those who

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were married or single. Additionally, nine point nine percent of women,

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regardless of their relationship status, experienced sexual violence in their lifetime,

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which would translate to roughly two million, one hundred and

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fifty thousand, three hundred and forty two women in South Africa.

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The rate of violence against women in South Africa is

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so high, in fact, that on the twentieth of November,

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six days ago as of one year hearing this, the

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National Disaster Management Center called gender based violence a national

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disaster following a quote thorough reassessment of previous reports and

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updated submissions from organizations of state as well as civil

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organizations after countrywide protests this past Friday, as well as

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the participation from those living in Eswatini, Kenya and Namibi.

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Gender based violence, according to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa,

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was previously declared a national crisis in twenty nineteen, according

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to the BBC, women are killed at a rate five

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times higher than the global average. While there are laws

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and policies in place to try and combat the alarming

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increase in violence against women in South Africa, the study

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conducted by the Human Scientists Research Council showed that the

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data reveals deeply ingrained gender norms and power dynamics, with

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strong cultural reinforcement of traditional gender rules and a troubling

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acceptance of male aggression and dominance. In a twenty twenty

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four article for Human Rights Watch, this study also showed

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that men had disturbing opinions surrounding women in violence perpetrated

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against them. Almost seventy percent of men quote said a

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wife should obey her husband, and fifteen percent felt a

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husband had the right to punish his wife for wrongdoings.

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Nearly ten percent held the false idea that women are

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often to blame if they were raped, and twelve percent

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wrongly believe if a woman does not physically resist it

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is not rape. Gender based violence is an increasingly growing problem,

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and as of today, there's not enough being done to

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combat it by police or the government. Women have resorted

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to obtaining gun licenses so that if they are attacked,

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they have something powerful to fight back with. Leandre Yechels

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didn't have the opportunity to fight back. She had trusted

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the police to enforce the protective order, and they didn't.

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After Bulilani was served, or more accurately warned, Leandre attempted

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to resume her day to day life, but she remained

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fearful of her surrounds, as did her parents. Bulilani was

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furious about the restraining order and had resorted to stalking

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Leandra as she ran errands and went to the gym.

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She never went anywhere by herself. Typically Rita or Ansel

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would accompany her where she needed to go. But as

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the months passed, it seemed as if Bulilani had lost

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interest and suddenly his presence wasn't a constant threat. Leandra

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started to get her spark back. She had a renewed

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interest in training again and looked forward to getting in

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the ring for a fight schedule to take place in

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July twenty nineteen in Saudi Arabia, a country where women's

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boxing seemed to finally be getting approval from their government. However,

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the match would go on to be canceled after a

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ban on women's boxing was implemented, and though disappointed, she

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looked towards a different fight to make her comeback, this

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time scheduled in October in India. She started training Missilani Tete,

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the WBO bantamweight world champion, to prepare for the match

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and was excited to further her boxing career when everything changed.

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On August thirtieth, twenty nineteen, the second to last day

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of Women's Month in South Africa, Leandre called Tete and

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asked if he would bring her to the training gym

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in Indensane, but he wasn't planning on training himself that day.

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He suggested that Rita drive Leandra instead. According to Rita,

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as the two drove into Indensane, they noticed the white

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Mercedes Benz tailgating them. Initially, Rita assumed the driver was

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just trying to pass them and she moved over to

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give them space, but the driver stayed behind them, and

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Leandra realized that the driver of the Mercedes was Bulilani.

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She told her mother and Rita sped up, attempting to

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lose him, but he was able to open take them,

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and Rita attempted to make a U turn, but due

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to the heavy traffic, Bulilani had enough time to exit

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his vehicle and approach Leandra's car, a gun clearly visible

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in his hand. He went to the driver's side and

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shot at Rita three times, hitting her once near the

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eye and once in the arm. Rita managed to start

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driving again, and Leandra begged her mother to pull over

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so she could drive instead, but Rita refused, saying they

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would waste precious time switching seats. Rita was able to

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drive a bit longer, but as she lost more blood,

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she started to lose consciousness and pulled over, fearing that

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she would put others in danger if she attempted to

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continue on. According to a witness named Ben Rexana, who

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had been behind the Bulilani's car during the shooting, He

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said that Bulilani quote got out and slowly walked toward

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her car with a gun in his hand. He just

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fired three shots at her in the driver's seat, as

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if there was nothing wrong with what he was doing.

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He then turned around and looked at the other cars

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before going back to his vehicle. Rickxana confirmed that Bulilani

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got in his car and followed Rita and Leandra as

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they drove away. Pulling off and getting out of his Mercedes.

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After Rita stopped driving, Biandra got out of the car

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to face Bulilani, but before she could reach him, he

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fired three more shots and she collapsed, dying at the scene.

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Bulilani then got back in his car and drove away.

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Now witnesses had called police when the first shots were made,

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but even as police officers demanded he pull over, Bulilani

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continued to drive, leading them on a forty mile chase

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before he was ultimately apprehended when he crashed into another vehicle,

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killing twenty nine year old petty clinic nurse Aulta Alatta

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and twenty nine year old Hamburg Liberians see Asanga Deyamani.

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A third passenger was unnamed but survived the crash. Bulilani

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was arrested and taken to the hospital for his injuries,

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and Rito was also brought to the hospital, where she

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was sent to the intensive care unit. According to the

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Daily Dispatch, when asked why Bulilani was permitted to keep

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his firearm after a restraining order was issued against him,

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Independent Police Investigated Director at spokesperson Santanga Sesa said, quote

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that is the internal processes of SAPs and we do

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not get involved in the operational dealings of SAPs and

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SAPs is the South African Police Service. Two days after

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Leandre's death, the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa's

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Committee on Education and Technology, Sports, Arts and Cultures released

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a statement extending their condolences to Leandra's family, friends and colleagues,

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with the committee chairperson Mama gasse By Naka Belongs saying quote,

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this shocking incident has robbed a young woman of a

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bright future, a family of a beloved daughter, and the

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world of a boxing star. Baby Lee was not just

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a hero to many women across the world, but shattered

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the opinions of those who think that females do not

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belong to boxing. As the Women's Month draws to an end,

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this incident is an example of the harsh realities of

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abuse and violence against so many women. Ahead of Bolilani's quarte,

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the Monday after Leandra's murder, Boxing South Africa chair person

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Melfistani Nakatani made a statement acknowledging the devastating loss of Leandre,

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who had worked so hard to make her country proud

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in the ring, also acknowledging how cruel it was for

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her to lose her life during a time quote when

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the entire nation is busy bracing itself to celebrate the

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last weekend of the month of Women. He went on

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to say, quote, it is disturbing that as we end

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the month that is supposed to honor women, we have

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seen more death, more abuse, and more missing young women.

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It is also disturbing that violence has been normalized in

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this country due to a lack of law enforcement and

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of the judicial system in playing their roles. Now, Buolilani

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Manyaka would never much to the dismay of those that

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loved and warned Leandra nake it to his court date.

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On the day he was to appear in court, Bulilani

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died as a result of his injuries from the car crash,

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and while it was comforting to know that he would

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never have the opportunity to harm another woman, the Yachls

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were denied an opportunity to face their daughter's killer. Rita,

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who had thankfully made a full recovery and ansel, told

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SA NBC that they would be pursuing legal advice about

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what could be done to hold the SAPs responsible in

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some way for failing to protect their daughter and enforce

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the order of protection, though whether or not they proceeded

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with a suit is unknown. In the immediate aftermath of

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Leandra's death, thousands of protesters gathered on the streets of

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Cape Town, demanding the government do something about the rampant

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violence being perpetuated against women. Leandra was the second woman

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killed in a matter of days at the hands of

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a man, and citizens were outraged and wanted action taken.

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President Ramafosa acknowledged that quote, it is a crime against

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their common humanity. We have heard the calls of the

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women of our country for action and justice. He also said,

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according to the Richmond Times, quote violence against women is

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a man's problem. It is men who rape and kill women.

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Let us not look away. Unfortunately, as I mentioned earlier,

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violence against women in South Africa has only gotten worse.

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The year after Leandre's death, Rita spoke of how she

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and her family still struggled to cope with their loss

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and except that their daughter is gone, She said she

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was unable to watch boxing, the sport Leandre loved so much,

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and that Rita loved watching her daughter excel at because

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it was too painful. A memorial ceremony was conducted on

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the one year anniversary at the spot where Leandra died,

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attended by her family, her trainer, fellow boxers, and promoters

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to honor the anniversary, and in twenty twenty three, the

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Leandra Baby Lee Yuhles Recreational Park was opened as a

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way to honor her memory. Leandre Yuckles did everything a

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woman is told to do when they are in a

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domestic violence situation. She confided in those that could love

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and support her. She went to the police, she got

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the restraining order, and still, even with her being an

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active and deliberate threat to her life, the very people

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that were supposed to protect her didn't. She was failed

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miserably by the police who chose to warn a violent

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man about an order of protection against him, instead of

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making sure he stayed within its parameters. They allowed him

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to retain his firearm, and they did nothing to deter

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him from going after her. Leandre had so much life

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left to live at only twenty five years old, and

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a career that she thrived and excelled in, and the

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person that was not only supposed to love her but

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keep her safe as a police officer, ripped it all away.

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I know I have at least a few listeners in

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00:26:46.559 --> 00:26:49.920
South Africa, so for those that are or may know

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someone experiencing domestic or gender based violence there, you can

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call the Gender Based Violence Command Center hotline at zero

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eight zero zero four to eight four two eight. You

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00:27:02.279 --> 00:27:05.000
can also text the line at three one five three

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00:27:05.119 --> 00:27:10.799
one or visit their website at GBV dot org DOTZA.

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00:27:11.000 --> 00:27:14.039
You can also call the Stop Gender Violence Helpline at

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00:27:14.160 --> 00:27:17.880
zero eight zero zero one five zero one five zero,

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or visit their website at lifeline essay dot co dot CA.

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And I'll put the links in numbers as well as

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00:27:26.880 --> 00:27:29.359
the ones for the US and the UK and the

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source notes below. As always, I thank you so much

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for listening. It was pretty appropriate to cover Leandre Yahol's

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story this week as this week is the annual sixteen

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Days of Activism in South Africa, whose purpose is to

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raise awareness and put a stop to gender based violence

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in the country. When I was researching her case, I

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didn't do it with the intention of posting it during

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00:27:59.039 --> 00:28:03.599
the sixteen Days of Backism, but it was pretty serentipitous

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when I realized that it would be coming out or

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this episode would be coming out at the same time.

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As always, I hope you have a wonderful week. For

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my American listeners, Happy Thanksgiving and I will see you

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in the next chapter of the Book of the Dead. Bye, guys.

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Another page closed, But the story isn't over. For the

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00:28:27.640 --> 00:28:31.920
families left behind, the pain doesn't end when the headline's fade.

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And for the victims, we owe them more than silence

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00:28:36.319 --> 00:28:39.799
for our on solved cases. If you have any information,

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00:28:40.039 --> 00:28:42.839
please reach out to local authorities or visit our show

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00:28:42.880 --> 00:28:47.599
notes for links and resources. Someone out there knows something,

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00:28:48.519 --> 00:28:52.920
maybe it's you. Thank you for listening to the Book

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00:28:52.960 --> 00:28:56.000
of the Dead. If this story moved or spoke to

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00:28:56.039 --> 00:28:59.720
you in some way, talk about it, share it, keep

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00:28:59.759 --> 00:29:05.319
the thing names alive. Until next time, I'm Courtney Liso.

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Stay safe, stay curious, and stay vigilant, and remember the

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dead may be gone, but their stories will not be forgotten.