Eleventh woman found dead in 10 weeks in South African municipality

South African police have found another woman’s body in the Ekurhuleni municipality east of Johannesburg, bringing to 11 the number of women discovered dead there over a 10-week period. The latest body was found around midday on Sunday in an open veld, police spokeswoman Brig. Brenda Muridili said.

A security company vehicle patrolling the area noticed the body and alerted police. The woman’s identity, age and cause of death were not immediately available. The discovery followed the finding on Saturday of a semi-naked woman near a cemetery in the same municipality.

Provincial police chief Tommy Mthombeni said that victim appeared to have been stoned to death. A post-mortem examination is expected to establish the cause of death. Police said a man linked to that killing had been arrested nearly 400 kilometres away after leaving the area.

The arrest brought to four the number of people in custody in connection with the killings. Police said, however, that they had not linked the individual cases. The nine other victims were mostly women in their 20s and 30s.

Some were found without clothes and showed signs of sexual assault, according to police. Eight of the 11 bodies have been found during September, intensifying concern over violence against women in the municipality. The deaths come as gender-based violence remains a serious issue in South Africa.

The national Gender-Based Violence Command Centre received 6,782 distress calls between September 1 and 16, an average of 424 calls a day. That figure was 21 per cent higher than during the comparable period in August. Police have not disclosed a common motive or suspect in the series.

Authorities are continuing investigations while determining the identities and causes of death of the victims.