Women found killed in South African municipality rise to 11

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South African police said Sunday that another body had been found in a municipality east of Johannesburg, bringing to 11 the number of women discovered dead there in 10 weeks.

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Eight of the victims have been found this month in a series of killings that has alarmed a country with one of the world’s highest murder rates per capita.

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The latest body was found around midday in an open veld in the Ekurhuleni municipality, police said.

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“A security company vehicle patrolling the area noticed the body and alerted the police,” police spokeswoman Brig. Brenda Muridili said.

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

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The discovery follows the finding on Saturday of a semi-naked woman’s body near a cemetery in the same municipality.

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Provincial police chief Tommy Mthombeni said the victim appeared to have been stoned to death, with a post-mortem examination to determine the cause of death.

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Police said Sunday that a man linked to the killing was arrested nearly 400 kilometres (250 miles) away after leaving the area.

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The arrest brings to four the number of people in police custody over the killings. Police have not linked any of the cases.

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The nine other victims were mostly in their 20s and 30s, with some found stripped of their clothes and showing signs of sexual assault.

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Gender-Based Violence remains endemic in South Africa despite years of government pledges to tackle it, and its declaration as a national disaster.

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The national GBV Command Centre received 6,782 distress calls from September 1 to 16, an average of 424 a day, up 21 per cent from the same period in August.

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AFP

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