Police in South Africa announced on Saturday the discovery of a woman’s body in the Tembisa neighbourhood north‑east of Johannesburg, marking the tenth such case in recent months. The victim was identified by a friend who had gone to a bar with her the night before, and the police are treating the scene as a potential homicide.
Gauteng Police Commissioner Tommy Mthombeni said the force could not yet rule out a serial killer, noting "similarities across the 10 deaths" in Ekurhuleni and an additional case in Soweto. He added that the victims share a “similar victimology” and a “modus operandi” that could help determine if the latest death is linked to the others.
The killings have sparked a national outcry over the shocking scale of violence against women in South Africa, which ranks ninth in the world for gender‑based violence. The recent string of murders has intensified pressure on the government, which declared gender‑based violence a national disaster less than a year ago.
South Africa’s homicide rate remains one of the highest globally – with 5,427 people murdered between April and June this year alone. While police statistics do not split data by gender, the South African Human Rights Commission reported that 569 women were killed and 1,052 survived attempted murder during the same period.
Three men were recently brought to court over one of the nine murders, as authorities work to identify additional suspects connected to the cases. The police continue to investigate the Tembisa body while a funeral service for the victim is expected in the coming days.
