Hilton and Michaelhouse to play with purpose to raise R25k for GBV victims

“He killed her, my boy. He killed her.”

These are the words Hilton College rugby player Nqubeko Majozi will remember when he steps onto the field to play the school’s traditional rival, Michaelhouse, on Saturday.

The Hilton College first team is “playing with purpose” to raise R25,000 for the Angels’ Care Gender-Based Violence Crisis Centre, a safe haven dedicated to protecting, empowering and supporting survivors of abuse. For every try scored, members of the public will have the opportunity to pledge a donation in support of the cause.

Majozi, who is the portfolio head of community partnerships at the school, has been personally affected by GBV.

“On December 23 last year, I got a call from my mother. She was crying uncontrollably. All she managed to say was: 'He killed her, my boy. He killed her.' That’s how I found out my cousin, Amanda Malaza, had been murdered by her boyfriend in their home, a place that should have been safe,” he said.

“On the day of Amanda’s funeral, we learnt that my aunt had also been strangled while walking home.”

Both became names on a growing list of South African women lost to gender-based violence, he said.

“This is the reality of our country. And it hurts deeply. We are in crisis — one stealing the lives of women and girls daily. And as young men, we cannot stay quiet. Our silence allows it to continue.

“On the same day Amanda was killed, so were Bongekile Mkhize, 32, by her boyfriend; Ntobeko Cele, 25, by her ex-boyfriend; and Bongeka Makhathini, 22, and her three-year-old son Okuhle by her baby’s father

“These women lived right here, in our community of uMgungundlovu. These are not headlines; they were our neighbours.

“Boys, this is real. If we, as Hilton College men, turn a blind eye — we become part of the problem. That’s why we’re launching an anti-GBV campaign during the Hilton-Michaelhouse fixture, in partnership with Sport For Lives.”

The goal is to raise awareness and to support survivors through care packs distributed via Angels’ Care Crisis Centre in Howick.

“But this is about more than donations; it’s about taking a stand. So when you put on your stripes on Saturday, don’t just play for pride; play with purpose. Play for Amanda, for Bongekile, for Ntobeko, for Bongeka and Okuhle — for every woman whose story was silenced. We may never walk in their shoes, but we can walk beside them.

“The boys of Hilton stand against violence, against silence and against prejudice.”

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