The Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) has called for urgent safety measures in areas where the bodies of seven women have been discovered in Gauteng, over the past two months.
This comes after latest discoveries were made on Tuesday (15 September, 2026) when police found the body of a woman in a river in Gauteng. The body was partially decomposed, and the victim was partially naked.
Earlier on Tuesday, police found another woman’s body on the side of a road in KwaThema, Springs. The woman was found fully naked and in an advanced state of decomposition.
The two discoveries bring to seven the number of women whose bodies have been found in and around Kempton Park, Olifantsfontein and along the R21 highway over the past two months.
Among the victims is runner Elizabeth Moselakgomo, whose body was identified on Monday.
In a statement, the CGE said the State has a responsibility to create conditions in which women could participate equally and freely in public life, including being able to move through public spaces without fear of violence.
“A society in which women have to avoid certain roads, stop exercising outdoors, change their working hours, travel only in groups, or constantly share their location to feel safe, is not a society in which women enjoy substantive equality,” CGE spokesperson Javu Baloyi said.
He said women should be able to run, walk to work, use public transport, return home, visit friends and participate in community life without having to assess whether an ordinary activity could place their lives at risk.
The Commission said the deaths highlighted the extent to which women in South Africa continued to face environments where their ordinary freedom of movement can become a matter of life and death.
The CGE stressed that women should not have to be killed before an area receives heightened attention from authorities.
It called for the affected locations in Kempton Park to undergo an urgent safety audit involving the South African Police Service (SAPS), the municipality, transport authorities and community safety structures.
The audit should assess factors that may increase risks to women and other members of the public, including street lighting, surveillance, pedestrian routes, public transport points, vacant or poorly monitored spaces, police visibility and access to emergency assistance.
“This should include consideration of lighting, surveillance, pedestrian routes, public transport points, vacant or poorly monitored spaces, police visibility and the accessibility of emergency assistance,” Baloyi said.
The Commission also called on residents of Kempton Park to work with police and provide any information that could assist investigators in identifying those responsible for the killings.
The CGE extended its condolences to the families of the women who have died and urged authorities to strengthen preventative measures alongside efforts to investigate and prosecute those responsible.
The Commission said ensuring women’s constitutional right to equality required safer public spaces and conditions that allowed women to exercise their freedom of movement without fear.
GBV demands a societal response
Meanwhile, the Department of Social Development – at both national and provincial level, have condemned the “callous, cowardly and utterly reprehensible” acts of violence against women.
The department said Gender-based violence is not a women’s issue, but a societal issue that demands a societal response.
“The loss of seven lives – mothers, daughters, sisters and members of our communities – is not merely a tragedy. It is an emergency. It is an emergency that demands the full force of government, civil society and every person in our communities to stand up, speak out and act,” the department said.
Social Development Minister Dina Pule and Gauteng MEC for Social Development, Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko, will this afternoon visit the residence of Moselakgomo to provide psychosocial support to the bereaved families, and ensure that the healing and care they need is available and accessible.
Department also confirmed that it is an active member of the Rapid Response Team convened to coordinate government’s urgent response to the murders. The team includes SAPS, the City of Ekurhuleni and Community Safety Department, and is focused on ensuring a swift, coordinated and victim-centred government response. – SAnews.gov.za
Source: Original report at SAnews.gov.za.
