11th Woman Found Dead in South Africa’s Ekurhuleni Municipality

The number of women found dead in Ekurhuleni, east of Johannesburg, has risen to 11 over the past 10 weeks after police discovered another body in an open field.

Police said the latest victim was found shortly after midday after a security company vehicle passing through the area spotted the body and alerted authorities.

Her identity, age and cause of death had not been established, according to information cited by police.

Cases not formally connected

The latest discovery came one day after police were called to another scene in the same municipality, where a woman’s body was found near a cemetery.

Tommy Mthombeni, the provincial police chief, said the woman found near the cemetery appeared to have been killed with stones. A post-mortem examination was expected to determine the precise cause of death.

Police said a man linked to the cemetery killing was arrested almost 400 kilometres away after leaving the area. The arrest brought the number of people in custody in connection with the series of killings to four.

Authorities have stressed that the cases have not been formally connected. Investigators are treating them individually while forensic examinations and further inquiries determine whether any links exist.

The source report said several victims were found partially or completely undressed, while some showed indications of sexual assault, according to police. Eight of the 11 bodies were discovered during the month covered by the report, and most of the other victims were women in their 20s and 30s.

Gender-based violence remains a national crisis

The deaths have occurred amid South Africa’s continuing struggle with gender-based violence, a problem the country has declared a national crisis.

Figures from the Gender-Based Violence Command Centre showed that it received 6,782 distress calls between September 1 and 16. That amounted to more than 400 calls per day and represented a 21 percent increase compared with the same period in August.

The latest discovery has not established whether the deaths share a common perpetrator or motive. Police and forensic investigators are expected to continue examining each case separately until evidence determines whether connections can be made.