South African police on Thursday recovered the ninth body of a woman in two months in an area east of Johannesburg, as a string of killings continues to fuel public anxiety.
Police have imposed a lockdown in parts of Kempton Park, in the Ekurhuleni municipality, and set up roadblocks following the discovery of three partially naked bodies in the area this week.
“We cannot continue picking up bodies,” Deputy Police Chief Tebello Mosikili told journalists in Dawn Park, where the latest body was discovered by the roadside.
Police have offered a 400,000-rand ($25,000) reward for information leading to the arrest of the suspected killer or killers. The Democratic Alliance, South Africa’s second-largest political party, has offered an additional $31,000 reward.
Mosikili said investigators would determine whether Thursday’s discovery was connected to the earlier killings or whether the latest case involved a copycat.
The deaths have heightened concerns over gender-based violence in South Africa, where the United Nations says one in three women experiences physical or sexual violence during her lifetime, despite years of government efforts to address the problem.
One of the victims, 38-year-old Elizabeth Moselakgomo, left her eight-year-old daughter at home to go for a jog but never returned. Her body was discovered on September 12 behind a hotel.
Her disappearance attracted widespread public attention after fellow runners launched a social media campaign to find her, bringing renewed focus to her case and previous killings. More bodies were subsequently discovered.
The first victim, a 37-year-old woman, was found naked and bound with cable ties on July 15. Police said a suspect was arrested two days later and appeared in court on Wednesday.
Mosikili said the suspect was a foreign national but did not disclose his country of origin.
A second woman, aged 32, was found partially clothed on August 24, while a third was discovered naked and in an advanced state of decomposition on September 10.
Police are continuing investigations to establish whether the cases are connected and to identify those responsible.
AFP
