MEC Nkomo-Ralehoko Condemns Brutal Killing of Women in Gauteng

The Gauteng MEC for Social Development, Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko, condemns in the strongest possible terms the continued killing of women in Gauteng, following the discovery of the bodies of six women in Ekurhuleni over a period of approximately two months.

These are not ordinary crime statistics. These are women whose lives have been violently taken from them. They were daughters, mothers, sisters, partners, colleagues and members of our communities. Their deaths represent an intolerable assault on the freedom, dignity and constitutional rights of women.

We cannot continue counting the bodies of murdered women as though this is normal. Six women in two months in one part of our province is not normal. It is horrifying. It demands urgency, decisive action and accountability from all of us entrusted with protecting the people of Gauteng”, said MEC Nkomo- Ralehoko.

The MEC said the latest reported discovery of another woman’s body, which could increase the number of bodies discovered to seven if officially confirmed, deepens the Department’s concern about the safety of women in Ekurhuleni and across Gauteng. “We must call this what it is: a crisis. Women cannot live as prisoners of fear in their own communities. They cannot be expected to calculate the possibility of being raped, assaulted or murdered every time they leave their homes, go to work, exercise, use public transport or simply walk through their neighbourhoods. The streets, parks, workplaces and communities of Gauteng belong equally to women.”

The Gauteng Department of Social Development welcomes the establishment of a multidisciplinary police task team and calls upon law-enforcement agencies to pursue these investigations with the highest possible urgency. Every available resource must be mobilised to establish the circumstances surrounding these deaths, identify the victims, locate and support their families, and ensure that that responsible face the full might of the law. “There must be no hiding place for those who murder women. Perpetrators must know that the state and society will pursue them relentlessly within the full force of the law. Equally, anyone who has information and chooses to protect a perpetrator becomes part of the environment that allows violence against women to continue”, said MEC Nkomo-Ralehoko.

The Department extends its deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of the deceased women. Social workers and relevant departmental services will be mobilized to provide psychosocial support to affected families and communities. The Department will also work with SAPS, the City of Ekurhuleni, community organizations and the broader gender-based violence and femicide sector to intensify community interventions, referral services and targeted outreach in affected areas.

The MEC further cautioned members of the public against circulating photographs of the deceased, speculating about their identities or spreading unverified information. The dignity of women does not end in death. Families must not discover the death of a loved one through a photograph circulating on social media, and nothing should be done that could compromise police investigations.

Residents who may have information that could assist law-enforcement agencies are urged to report it immediately to SAPS. Communities must become active participants in defeating gender-based violence by refusing to harbour perpetrators, challenging violence and misogyny, reporting suspicious conduct and intervening through lawful means wherever women and children are threatened.“This cannot become another moment of outrage that disappears when the headlines change. Six murdered women in two months must disturb the conscience of our entire province. We owe these women more than condolences. We owe them justice, and we owe every woman and girl in Gauteng a province in which her right to live is not negotiable.”

The Gauteng Provincial Government remains resolute that violence against women and children has no place in our society. The killing must stop. The fear must end. Those responsible must be found and brought to justice.