The South African Police Service (SAPS) has discovered the body of an 11th woman among a series of human remains found in the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality area over the past two months.
The SAPS Gauteng spokesperson Brenda Muridili confirmed the discovery on Sunday, with reports stating that the body was found half-naked in an open area by a patrolling security vehicle in Springs, Ekurhuleni.
“A security company vehicle patrolling the area noticed the body and alerted the police,” Ms Muridili stated as fears grew among South Africans over the unexplained deaths.
The latest body discovery came 24 hours after the police stated that it found the remains of a 10th woman in the early hours of Saturday. The ENCA news reported that the body was found inside the Mooifontein Cemetery in Tembisa near an Informal Settlement.
Meanwhile, Ms Muridili noted that officials from relevant agencies, including the task force investigating other cases of mysterious deaths in the Ekurhuleni area, had been deployed to the scene in Springs.
“All necessary role-players have been mobilised, including the Task Team investigating the Ekurhuleni murder cases, Crime Scene Management, Investigative Psychology Services,” the police added.
The South African chapter of Women for Change has once again released a statement decrying the unending discovery of women’s bodies, decrying what it described as lack of urgent action from the government.
“Today, there is another woman. Another body. Another life taken. How many women must be found half-naked, dumped in velds, rivers, on roadsides and in cemeteries before this country responds with the urgency and horror that this crisis demands?.
“We said yesterday that we were done counting. We refuse to accept a country where another dead woman becomes the next number. Eleven is not a statistic. Eleven is an emergency. We refuse to normalise this. We refuse to become numb. And we refuse to keep counting our dead sisters,” the organisation said.
The organisation also reported that a suspect had been apprehended in connection with Saturday’s case, stating “Police have since confirmed that a suspect was arrested in Limpopo in connection with her killing. According to police, the suspect allegedly fled to Tzaneen after the murder.”
Additionally, many have taken to social media to react to the crisis, including Instagram user @ja _hills, who called for the reintroduction of death penalty in the country, saying “They must bring back the death penalty or give the suspects to the community coz they doing this coz they’re not scared of prison are at a point where we are afraid to go to JHB coz we might not come back.”
“I think the police are hiding the actual number of dead bodies found in that area. I suspected from the 8th body that there might be more numbers,” @kelly_storm_romeland wrote.
Similarly, @mellospoke questioned the reliability of the police, stating “I just don’t know how to feel anymore. I don’t have faith in SAPS because we’ve seen what they’re willing to do to make a quick buck. Our president doesn’t care.
“Women are being hunted like wild animals. Where is the increased police visibility around the clock? This is why bodies are being dumped without anyone noticing.”
