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Articles by Monique Botha
‘I Am a Person Before My Label’: Exploring People's Perceptions of Different Discourses Associated With Dyslexia
1 Introduction Dyslexia has long occupied a contested position within education, psychology and disability politics (Campbell 2013). It has been framed as a neurological defect, specific learning difficulty, cognitive difference and, more recently, as part of neurodiversity discourse (Odegard and Dye 2024).
Treating trauma, not autism: a critical response to Te Hennepe et al. (2026)
We read with interest this pre–post study by Te Hennepe et al. (Citation2026), reporting that intensive trauma-focused treatment was associated with large, comparable reductions in PTSD symptoms in patients with ‘high and low ASD traits’, with no dropouts and no apparent adverse events. Our concerns are not with this central finding but with the methodology, ethical considerations, language and framing of autism, and the generalisations made. 1.
What neurodivergent people really think about the words used to describe them
Credit: Image generated by the editorial team using AI for illustrative purposes. Labels like autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and dyslexia are not new. But the way we understand them is changing. In recent years, researchers have increasingly worked with neurodivergent people rather than simply studying them from the outside.
What neurodivergent people really think about the words used to describe them Original
Labels like autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and dyslexia are not new. But the way we understand them is changing. In recent years, researchers have increasingly worked with neurodivergent people rather than simply studying them from the outside. That change has brought better access to diagnosis, more inclusive approaches in schools and workplaces and a growing challenge to the idea that neurological difference is something to be fixed.
True Crime: How safe is your child?
We drop our children off at school, believing they are safe, hopeful that they will learn something useful but, unfortunately, predators are all around us. There have been more than 150 cases of teachers having sexual relationships with pupils in South Africa in the last year. How safe is your child? It is against the law for any person over the age of 18 to have sex with anyone under the age of 16.
True Crime Junkie: South Africa's own Ted Bundy
One of South Africa’s worst serial killers, Moses Sithole, aka the ABC Killer, has been likened to the notorious American Ted Bundy. As a young boy, Sithole was abandoned at a police station in Vosloorus, a monster in the making. He was dubbed the ABC killer because he killed in Atteridgeville, Boksburg and Cleveland, all suburbs of Gauteng. Sithole was found guilty of 38 murders and 40 counts of rape. In 1997, he was sentenced to 2410 years’ imprisonment.
True Crime Junkie: Elder abuse is a crime
Lenziwe Mazibuko, an 85-year-old grandmother from a village near Estcourt, was recently found dead in her home. She had been raped and strangled, her body left half naked. A 19-year-old suspect was subsequently arrested. Elder abuse in South Africa is when someone harms or causes distress to an older person.
True Crime Junkie: Questions remain over Nadine Terblanche case
On November 27, 2023, Freddie Stapelberg arrived home after work to find the love of his life and her son both dead. Stapelberg was attacked with an axe upon his arrival; luckily, a suspect was arrested soon thereafter. Nadine Terblanche was in a relationship with Stapelberg and shared a home with him in Alberton. Nadine’s son Ruandré was only nine years old when they were murdered. He was a cancer survivor at a young age and the light in his family’s lives.
TRUE CRIME JUNKIE: Siblings fight but it doesn't usually end in death
Most of us can relate to sibling rivalry. I remember throwing a strawberry milkshake at my brother years ago, and I don’t even remember what the fight was about. Siblings fight, it’s normal, but it doesn’t often get violent, and very rarely does it get deadly. On 19 September 1994, the community of Port Elizabeth was horrified at the murder of a 13-year-old girl; she was attacked in her home.
True Crime Junkie: Suretha Brits - mother, wife, murderer
I recently read the book ‘Moord Op Pofadder’ which tells the horrific story of the murder of Leon Brits. Leon was a proud business owner, husband and father. To the community in Pofadder, the Brits couple seemed normal; no one would have guessed that the one would commit the murder of the other. Jacques van Vuuren knew Suretha most of his life; he was friends with her brother, and she grew up in front of him; it is safe to say that he had a soft spot for her, almost like a small sister.
True Crime Junkie: Revisiting the Zephany Nurse case
Taking home a newborn is an unforgettable moment for most families, but for one family, it took 17 years to take their baby home. Zephany Nurse was born on 28 April 1997 to parents Morné and Celeste Nurse. Three days later, she was kidnapped from her crib next to her mother’s bed in the Groote Schuur Hospital. For 17 years, the case mostly stayed dormant. Every year, the Nurse parents held a birthday party for their missing daughter, hoping that she would someday be returned to them.
True Crime Junkies: Danger lurks all too close to home
I’ve read many different articles trying to find the most dangerous city in the world. Business Tech reports that Pietermaritzburg is the most dangerous city in the world, and it’s only a two-hour drive from us. I’ve already written about a mass murder that took place in Pietermaritzburg last year, but this city also had councillors and traditional healers murdered, and in this crime hot spot, people were seen burnt alive.
True Crime Junkies: Fighting back the tears
On October 9 2022, a beautiful girl went missing in Benoni. Eight days later, her mutilated body was found. Her family was left heartbroken forever. Bokgabo Diseko Poo was only four years old when she was lured away from a park where she was playing with her friends. Her body was later found, but only parts of it, leaving her family searching for closure. Ntokozo Khulekani Zikhali was out on bail awaiting his trial for allegedly raping a nine-year-old girl.
True Crime Junkies: Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned
I have written before about how men are generally more aggressive than women. This is true; however, it’s also true that ‘hell hath no fury like a woman scorned’, famously coined by author William Congreve. In 2013, a 21-year-old woman appeared in a Johannesburg court after cutting off her boyfriend’s private parts. She walked in on him with another woman and made sure that it would never happen again. A 5-year-old girl was found murdered in Port Elizabeth in 2019.
True Crime Junkies: Mass murders increase in South Africa
A mass murder can be defined as the killing of three or more people at one time and in one location. This is a disaster that we used to associate with other countries or the TV shows we watch, but mass killings have been occurring in South Africa for decades. For some reason, though, it seems that this trend is increasing. A family of five was killed in a village in Mthatha last year.
True Crime Junkies: Her hands are still missing
Anika Smit was a 17-year-old schoolgirl who, on March 10, 2010, stayed home from school due to an ear infection. At 09:00, she spoke to her mom on the phone, and by 11:00, she was dead. Her father, Johan Smit, had arranged with the local pharmacy to deliver medicine for Anika at their home. The pharmacy informed Anika’s father that they could not provide the medicine as she didn’t respond and that the gate was unlocked, but the dogs were outside, running around the house.
True Crime Junkies: Decade of rape horror
Nkosinathi Phakathi, dubbed the Benoni Serial Rapist, was sentenced to 42 life sentences, 791 years, and six months in prison. He pleaded guilty to 148 charges, which included 90 counts of rape. Research indicates that men rape to gain power; it makes them feel important. There are different reasons why a person would need this power – being rejected multiple times, childhood traumas, alcohol and substance abuse, to name a few. Rape is also easier in South Africa.
True Crime Junkies: The Ellen Pakkies story
I killed my son. I had no other choice. This is the unfortunate story of Ellen Pakkies. She was born without a name, abused from the age of four, kidnapped and gang-raped as a young girl. Ellen survived all these things, got married, and had three sons. Unbelievably, her biggest tragedy was still to come. Despite all her tragedies, Ellen was a loving mother and pillar in her community. But, there is only so much a mother can take. Ellen’s son Abie was born into this abuse.
True Crime Junkies: Hitman for hire
Contract killings are not just something we watch on crime shows. Rather, this has become quite common in South Africa. Getting rid of someone without getting your hands dirty has become the solution for many, and it doesn’t break the bank. Ordering a hit on your spouse could cost as little as R2600, although high-profile and political hits can be quite expensive, according to crime studies. Kiernan Forbes, known as AKA, was shot dead last year outside a restaurant in Durban.
True Crime Junkies: Four types of victimology
Victimology is a term used to describe a person who has become a victim of a crime. There are different types of victimologies and different focuses. Let’s explore. If a person is raped, they become the victim. The victim’s age, race, financial status, gender and area of residence is the victimology of the person. With some crimes, like rape, there is a stigma attached. No one wants to be a victim of a crime, but it will be easier to report a car theft than to report a sexual assault.
True Crime Junkies: What went wrong with Boetie Boer?
Stewart Wilken, also known as Boetie Boer, is a well-known serial killer in South Africa. I have mentioned him in several of my articles as he is one of the most fascinating serial killers to date. One of the first things that makes this case so interesting is that most serial killers have a specific victim in mind (I will discuss victimology next week).
True Crime Junkies: Cannibalism and its different forms
Cannibalism is described as the act of humans eating another human’s flesh or organs. This reminds me of my all-time favourite movie, Hannibal. Hannibal the cannibal. Cannibalism has been well documented all over the world, and it’s been around since prehistoric times. Some anthropologists suggest that cannibalism was quite common in those times. People commit the act of cannibalism for different reasons. The one that we can try to understand is starvation.
True Crime Junkies: When fathers abuse
I recently bought the book ‘Dis ek Anna’ for my teenage daughter to read. I remember reading the same book at that age. It’s a disturbing but necessary story. Thinking back, I had more than one friend who was sexually abused by her father. We read about it in the papers almost weekly; it’s all over social media, but why? Why do these fathers choose to do irreversible damage to their daughters? When I refer to a father, I’m talking about both biological and stepfathers.
True Crime Junkies: Firearms and family fatalities
Being South African means that we are more vigilant about crime. We know we might become a statistic at any moment, and some of us already have, so we prepare ourselves, anticipate the danger, and act accordingly. How many of you own a weapon for safety purposes? On June 5, 2018, Sibusiso Emmanuel Tshabalala, a Johannesburg father, shot and killed his 16-year-old son, Luyanda. That fateful evening, Sibusiso took his son to extra classes at Fred Norman Secondary School.
True Crime Junkies: Still unsafe, even after death?
Necrophilia is a term that sends shivers down my spine. This is when a person has a sexual attraction towards corpses. Stewart Wilken, aka Boetie Boer, admitted to Dr Gérard Labuschagne in an interview that he committed acts of necrophilia after killing his victims. Dr Henry Lerm, who completed his master’s degree in necrophilia, said this happens more often than we realise.
True Crime Junkies: When closure seems impossible
I recently chatted with a woman by the name of Veronica Els. Her son Phillip Els died on July 18, four years ago. The police recorded the death as suicide, but his family disagrees. When you lose a loved one, there is no easy way to grieve, but having unanswered questions sure doesn’t help. When someone is murdered, and the offender is found guilty and sentenced, there is justice, and some healing can begin.
True Crime Junkies: When jealousy leads to murder
As we enter into August, also known as Women’s Month, I felt it devastatingly crucial to talk about a particular case. More than two decades ago, in a quiet suburb in Heidelberg, multiple families’ lives would change forever. Liz-Marie Minny, 19 years old at the time, had broken off her engagement to her abusive partner, Johan Rosslee. This was a couple of months before Rosslee decided that if he couldn’t be with Liz-Marie, then no one would.
True Crime Junkies: Wrongfully accused
When someone who committed a horrendous crime is found guilty, it puts us at ease, and we sleep a little better at night, knowing the world is a little bit safer. But what happens when someone is found guilty when they have not committed the crime? In 2011, Nolubabalo Nomsuka (23) was eight months pregnant when she started going into labour. She called a friend for help, but by the time her friend arrived, Nolubabalo had given birth, and the baby was dead.
True Crime Junkies: Girl with a scar on her forehead
Valencia Behrens, a 34-year-old heavily pregnant woman from Toekomsrus, near Randfontein, was lured to her death a mere 300 metres from her home. Loretta Cook, also pregnant then, told Valencia that she had a pram for her and should come quickly to collect it. Hours later Valencia’s lifeless body was found, and her baby had been removed in what is called a Caesarean Kidnapping.
True Crime Junkies: No relationship is worth dying over
We are more often than not shocked when people we know commit violent crimes. Recently, a friend of mine was disturbed to find out that someone she knew was responsible for the following heartbreaking story. In 2022, the parents of Nadia Lloyd received a phone call that no parents should ever get. Their daughter was dead. She had committed suicide, or so they were told by her fiancé, Jaco Steyl.
True Crime Junkies: Mystery of the Meadowbrook Doe
We all know the names Gert van Rooyen and Joey Haarhoff. We have all thought about what happened to the six girls that went missing between 1988 and 1990. But this is not a story about the horrendous couple that killed themselves while being chased by the police in 1990; we all know that story. This is a story about a girl who was murdered in Meadowbrook, Germiston. Episode 57 of True Crime South Africa tells the mystery of Meadowbrook Doe.
True Crime Junkies: Samurai sword killer 'unable to stop himself'
Mass murder is the act of killing more than one victim at the same time, not to be confused with a serial killer who kills multiple victims in similar ways over a longer period. South Africa has seen a spike in mass murders, but nothing like what we read about in America, especially in schools. This makes me think of the Morné Harmse case. Harmse walked into his high school in Krugersdorp on a Monday in August 2008, intending to kill as many people as possible.
True Crime Junkies: Why do children kill?
If you are a parent, you will agree with me that we always want to see the best in our children; we might even be a bit blind to their shortcomings, but could you be raising a rapist or serial killer? It is always hard to imagine young people as heinous criminals, but now and then, we read about them, and we wonder why. Children who kill is not a new phenomenon. In 1748, William York, aged 10, murdered a five-year-old girl because he didn’t like her.
True Crime Junkie: Still no justice for Inge Lotz
In 2005, a young student named Inge Lotz was found murdered in her apartment in Stellenbosch. The police quickly suspected her boyfriend, Fred van der Vyver, due to the force that was used and because there were no signs of forced entry. Understandably. Cases like these are depressingly familiar in South Africa. Records show that when someone is murdered, especially when there is so much violence, it is almost always someone close to the victim.
True Crime Junkies: In memory of slain women
A memorial has been erected in the township of Shayamoya in Umzinto, not far from Pennington. It stands to remember the 13 women who were murdered by serial killer Thozamile Taki, dubbed the Sugarcane Killer. South Coast readers might remember this case as it took place so close to home. Unemployment is a serious issue in the country but for some South African serial killers, unemployment forms part of their modus operandi.
True Crime Junkies: Remembering the Venter family killing
I have researched many horrific cases, and while I do try to remember all of them, unfortunately, I cannot. But some cases refuse to be forgotten, and this is one of them. A couple of years ago, I listened to episode 20 from the podcast True Crime South Africa, The Venter Family Massacre, and now and then, I find myself thinking about Millie Venter.
True Crime Junkie: Warning signs of predators
Paedophilia is a psychiatric disorder in which adults are attracted to children 13 years or younger. We all teach our kids about stranger danger, however, most times the danger is much closer to home. Here are some facts: – 95% of abusers are male. – They can be single or have a family of their own. – 95% of abusers are known to the family, they will be a trusted friend or family member. These offenders are skilled at deception and conniving, they groom both the child and the family.
The neurodiversity concept was developed collectively: An overdue correction on the origins of neurodiversity theory
To the editor, We are writing, as an international group of autistic scholars of autism and neurodiversity, to correct an erroneous and harmful narrative regarding the origins of the concept and theorising of neurodiversity. For some time, the coinage and theorising of the concept of ‘neurodiversity’ has been attributed to Judy Singer.
The neurodiversity concept was developed collectively: An overdue correction on the origins of neurodiversity theory
To the editor, We are writing, as an international group of autistic scholars of autism and neurodiversity, to correct an erroneous and harmful narrative regarding the origins of the concept and theorising of neurodiversity. For some time, the coinage and theorising of the concept of ‘neurodiversity’ has been attributed to Judy Singer.
True Crime Junkie: Greed motivated serial killer Rosemary Ndlovu
Female serial killers are not as common as male serial killers and I think that makes them so much more intriguing. Rosemary Ndlovu is an exceptionally interesting serial killer as all of her victims were family, which for serial killers is very rare. Ndlovu was a member of the South African Police Service and this uniform made people trust her, they believed her to be a good person although some of her colleagues never trusted her. Ndlovu was a master manipulator and greed was her motive.
True Crime Junkies: Today’s female victim is tomorrow's offender
Why do women kill? I have often wondered about this – why anyone feels the need to kill another person. I do believe we are all capable of murder under the right circumstances, or rather, the wrong circumstances. But we as a society find it a little bit more acceptable when men murder and shocked when women do. There are 143,223 convicted prisoners in South Africa, and 3,724 of them are women, so it is safe to say women do kill less than men, but why?
True Crime Junkies: The axe-wielding former rugby player
Schizophrenia is a serious mental illness that affects how a person thinks, feels, and behaves. This is a lifelong illness and can be characterised by thoughts that seem out of touch with reality, disorganised speech or behaviour, and decreased interest in daily activities. Phindile Joseph Ntshongwana, a former Blue Bulls rugby player was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2009. In 2011 he violently hacked four people to death with an axe, decapitating two of them.
True Crime Junkies: Danger sometimes lurks inside our homes
We have grown used to living in an unsafe world, we take precautions to ensure the safety of our homes and family, but sometimes the danger lurks inside our homes. Matricide and patricide are terms used to describe when children kill their parents. There have been quite a few cases of this in South Africa. But what makes this case rare is that siblings committed the murder, whereas in other cases it is normally just one child that murders and then there is also the cult factor.
Diagnosis as a new beginning not an end: A participatory photovoice study on navigating an autism diagnosis in adulthood
Introduction Many autistic people make it into adulthood before receiving a diagnosis (Huang et al., 2020). Diagnostic inequalities often mean girls and women fail to be recognised as early as white cisgender males, confounding the oft-cited figure of a 4:1 male ratio (Christensen et al., 2018; Van Wijngaarden-Cremers et al., 2014), which can be further compounded by racial inequality (Jarquin et al., 2011).
Diagnosis as a new beginning not an end: A participatory photovoice study on navigating an autism diagnosis in adulthood
Get full access to this article View all access and purchase options for this article. Data availability statement The data are not publicly available because of information that could compromise research participant privacy. References Adams C. A., May T. (2021). Diagnosis of autism in older women: Reflections of a psychologist and a client. Good Autism Practice (GAP), 22(2), 59–65. Arnold S. R. C., Huang Y., Hwang (Jane) Y. I., Richdale A. L., Trollor J. N., Lawson L. P. (2020).
True Crime Junkies: Still no closure for Tracy Thompson's family
Eighteen years ago a mother’s heart was about to break. Her daughter was missing and her world would soon be turned upside down. This is the story of Tracy Thompson. If you are a true crime junkie like me, you probably listen to the podcast True Crime South Africa. If you haven’t yet, be sure to check it out. If it wasn’t for this podcast hosted by Nicole Engelbrecht, I would never have known about Tracy’s case.
True Crime Junkies: Have you ever wondered what a psychopath is?
Psychopathy is a neuropsychiatric disorder that presents with symptoms like a lack of empathy and poor behavioural controls, which can lead to criminal behaviour. When I think of a psychopath, Moses Sithole comes to mind. Sithole is seen as South Africa’s worst serial killer, he murdered at least 37 women and a child. Sithole lured his victims by promising them work opportunities, this modus operandi is very popular with serial killers in South Africa.
Non-autistic observers both detect and demonstrate the double empathy problem when evaluating interactions between autistic and non-autistic adults
Discussion Autistic people have described themselves as experiencing an increased intra-community connectedness and a more natural rapport with other autistic people (Botha et al., 2020) compared to with non-autistic (NA) people.
True Crime Junkies: Stop normalising bad behaviour
Lately, I have been thinking about the boys of Parktown Boys’ High School, in particular the boys abused by their teacher. If you haven’t read the book Brutal School Ties by Sam Cowen I highly recommend that you do. This book made me sick to my stomach, I think this is because as parents we have all probably felt helpless at some point. Collan Rex, former water polo coach at PBHS pleaded guilty to 144 charges and was sentenced to 23 years in prison. He was only 22 years old at sentencing.
True Crime Junkies: Why do men murder their partners?
I knew it! When Minister Liezel de Jager was murdered in Amanzimtoti in 2021, I told anyone who would listen that, in my opinion, it had to be her husband. (The case in back in the spotlight, with Werner de Jager recently arrested and charged with the murder of Liezel. He is in police custody, awaiting a bail application hearing). The reason that I jumped to this conclusion is that in South Africa every day three women are murdered by their jealous, depressed, or controlling partner or ex-partner.
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