Eleven women found dead in Ekurhuleni municipality

South African authorities say the bodies of 11 women have been discovered in the Ekurhuleni municipality east of Johannesburg over a 10 week period, with eight found this month alone.

The latest body was found around midday in an open veld in Ekurhuleni after a security company vehicle noticed the corpse and alerted police, police spokeswoman Brigadier Brenda Muridili said.

Details about the woman’s identity, age and cause of death were not immediately available, the police added.

The discovery followed Saturday’s finding of a semi-naked woman near a cemetery in the same municipality. Provincial police chief Tommy Mthombeni said that victim “appeared to have been stoned to death,” and that a post-mortem would determine the cause of death.

Police said a man who they linked to that killing was arrested nearly 400 kilometres away after leaving the area. The arrest brings to four the number of people currently in police custody in connection with the series of deaths, the force said. Investigators have not linked all the cases so far.

Police reports indicate the other nine victims were mostly in their 20s and 30s. Some of those bodies were found stripped and showed signs of sexual assault, authorities said.

Gender-based violence remains a persistent problem in South Africa. The national GBV Command Centre recorded 6,782 distress calls from September 1 to 16, an average of 424 calls a day, up 21 percent from the same period in August.

The information above was provided to media by police and provincial officials and reported by Channels Television and Punch, which carried material from AFP.

What we know and what is attributed

• Eleven bodies were found in Ekurhuleni over 10 weeks, with eight discovered this month: reported by Channels Television and Punch (Channels, Punch).
• Brigadier Brenda Muridili told reporters that “a security company vehicle patrolling the area noticed the body and alerted the police”: attributed to police via Channels and Punch.
• Provincial police chief Tommy Mthombeni said the woman found near the cemetery “appeared to have been stoned to death” and a post-mortem will determine the cause: attributed to Mthombeni in the same reports.
• Police said a man linked to one killing was arrested nearly 400 kilometres away and that four people are now in custody; police have not linked all the cases: these details come from police briefings quoted in the reports.

Featured image: Vectorebus via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.