Overview
- Investigations into the deaths of nine women found in Ekurhuleni in recent weeks remain active, and police arrested a man and two women over the weekend in connection with the ninth victim who was found near Dawn Park; the three were expected to appear in Boksburg Magistrates Court on Monday.
- President Cyril Ramaphosa pledged to 'pull out all stops' to find perpetrators, urged men to respect and protect women, and said the government would deploy more money, resources and technology to tackle gender-based violence and femicide.
- The state has escalated operational leadership by assigning Lt-Gen Dumisani Khumalo and Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi to the response and by briefing the Inter-Ministerial Committee on GBVF through NATJOINTS to improve coordination.
- The spate of bodies has heightened public fear about women’s safety across Gauteng and prompted scrutiny of the pace and effectiveness of the police response, with some critics noting political optics after Ramaphosa attended an ANC golf event while on sick leave.
- Alongside the security response, the ANC is probing technical problems that left some candidate lists incomplete for the local elections after the Electoral Court dismissed the party’s challenge, and party leaders have pledged accountability where needed.