Red Flag for Women's Safety in South Africa: 7 Women Found Dead in a Single City Over Two Months

Concerns over women's safety are growing as the bodies of seven women, believed to have been victims of crime, have been discovered one after another over the past two months in a city adjacent to Johannesburg, South Africa's largest city.

While police have formed a dedicated task force to investigate the cases, President Cyril Ramaphosa has also ordered that the incident be treated as a top priority.

According to local media including Reuters, AP, AFP, and The Citizen on September 15 (local time), the bodies of women suspected of being murdered since mid-July have been successively found in Ekurhuleni (commonly known as the East Rand), a city east of Johannesburg.

Police stated that most of the victims were in their 20s and 30s, and their clothes were partially or entirely removed when discovered.

The first victim, a 37-year-old woman found on July 15 near the R21 highway, was bound with cable ties.

Although one suspect in the case was arrested two days later, another 32-year-old woman was found dead on August 24, about a month later, also partially unclothed along the R21 highway.

The remaining five female victims were found sequentially starting from the 10th of this month.

In particular, concerns over serial killings began to mount after the fourth victim, found behind a hotel in Kempton Park on the 12th, was identified as 38-year-old Elizabeth Moselakgomo, who was active in a running club.

Moselakgomo, a mother of an 8-year-old daughter, went out for a jog after getting off work and never returned, drawing public attention as fellow runners launched a social media campaign to find her.

Amid these developments, as female bodies were discovered on the 15th in the KwaThema area and in a river near the Tembisa Mall—about 34 kilometers apart from Kempton Park—police issued a public alert urging women engaging in outdoor activities such as jogging in the region to exercise caution.

Police are investigating whether these crimes were committed by a single perpetrator, if multiple suspects were involved, or if they are the work of copycat criminals.

In a statement that day, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa urged public cooperation, saying, "I have instructed that these cases be treated as a priority and that no stone be left unturned to bring those responsible to justice."

South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the world.

According to data released by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), South Africa records 44 annual murder victims per 100,000 residents, which is nine times the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) average of 5.

For reference, South Korea recorded 0.5 murder victims per 100,000 residents annually as of 2022.

In South Africa, which has a population of 63 million, 6,351 people were killed by homicide in the fourth quarter of last year alone, averaging 70 victims per day.

Amnesty International's South Africa branch criticized the consecutive discovery of women's bodies as "another grim reminder that women in South Africa are not safe."

The South African Commission for Gender Equality also urged urgent preventative measures, calling for safety inspections involving police, local government officials, transport authorities, and community policing structures.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.