Pretoria - Ongoing efforts by police to root out femicide in the country suffered another setback when the bullet-riddled body of an unknown woman was discovered in the city on Wednesday morning.
Provincial police spokesperson Captain Mavea Masondo said they were seriously disturbed by the discovery of yet another body.
“It happened at a time when the provincial and national police are investigating disappearances and deaths of women which have increased drastically over the past month,” Masondo said.
The victim's body was discovered by farmworkers on their way to work near a Kameeldrift plot.
The unknown woman had two gunshot wounds on her upper body and was wearing a black skirt and jacket. Police estimated her to be aged between 25 and 35. “We are yet to uncover her identity as no one in the immediate vicinity could identify her,” Masondo said.
Farmworkers were reporting for duty when they noticed a body lying on the side of the road in the early hours of yesterday.
“They called the police and when they arrived at the scene, they discovered that it was the body of a woman with gunshot wounds on her upper body,” he said.
Masondo said paramedics were summoned to the scene and it was there that they certified the woman dead. “The motive for the murder is unknown and a case has been opened.”
Among other women who had recently been reported missing and were then found killed was 22-year-old Karabo Mokoena, who went missing on a night out with her boyfriend. Her charred body was found in a veld.
Qondile Mhlanga, 21, went missing from Kamdladla near Tonga in Mpumalanga in April. Her decomposed body was found covered with tree branches and dumped in a dam a week later.
The body of 28-year-old Bongeka Phungula, a graduate from the Durban University of Technology, was found in a dump site in Tladi with gunshot wounds to her head.
Popi Qwabe, 24, from Zola 2 in Soweto, was also found killed on the same day. Both had also been raped, police said.
Earlier this week, Thembisile Yende, reported missing two weeks ago, was found dead in an office at Eskom where she worked. Her decomposing body was retrieved by the police after staff complained of an unpleasant odour coming from the direction of the office.
Both police and Eskom security personnel, with dogs, searched the premises with a fine toothcomb when she disappeared after being captured driving on CCTV.
Towards the end of last year, police retrieved the body of 36-year-old Meisie Molefe, from Stinkwater, Pretoria, after she was murdered by her boyfriend. She had been killed and set alight, and then buried in his backyard. He confessed six months later.
The body of Stellenbosch University student Hannah Cornelius was found after she was hijacked and abducted. She was also raped.
Gauteng police have set up a task team comprising 16 detectives to probe the spate of killings of women. Masondo said the new discovery disturbed society and law enforcement. He added that anyone who knew anything of about a missing woman, or the killing of one, should come forward with information. He said a high-level investigation was being launched into the latest killing.
“The police are working tirelessly to combat crimes committed against women and children, and to investigate other similar crimes already committed in the province,” he said.
The rising incidence of kidnapping, raping, burning and killing of women has spread fear. Women have expressed their fear of being both indoors and outside. They have called on the government to restore order and ensure safety was guaranteed.
President Jacob Zuma and other politicians, including those in government, have spoken out against the femicide, saying it was not normal for men to kill as they did. It could not become normal, they said, vowing to do what they could to stop it.
Some men in society also took up the fight against femicide, marching through Pretoria to the Union Buildings two weekends ago, brandishing a #NotInMyName campaign and saying men had to protect women. “Real men don’t rape, real men don’t abuse and down with women abuse” they said.
Similar protests have been staged in other parts of the country.
Police have also called on communities to stand up against all forms of abuse, especially that levelled against women and children, who were vulnerable in the face of violence.
Meanwhile, Police Minister Fikile Mbalula said his office regarded rape,femicide and other forms of gender-based violence as a fundamental threat to national security.
“I have instructed my office to deal with it in that manner – as a priority crime,” Mbalula said during a debate on violence against women in the National Council of Provinces.
“I have tasked my office to… evaluate the viability of having femicide and domestic violence classified as a special category. An assault against women must carry a heavier sentence than a sentence for common assault,” he said.
Mbalula sent a strong message to the police on how to deal with women who were victim of crimes. “No woman must be told to fix things at home,” he said. "No woman must be turned away without proper investigation. And statements should be taken in a private room,” he added.
He also said female victims of crime must receive legal, medical, social and psychological support. “I assure women and children and women that we will do everything to protect and keep you safe from criminals,” Mbalula said. – Additional reporting by Mayibongwe Maqhina