Two South African women appeared in court on Monday over the killing of one of nine women found dead in a neighbourhood east of Johannesburg — a series of murders that have sparked alarm and anger.
The nine bodies were discovered in Kempton Park over a period of two months. Police are investigating whether a serial killer or killers were responsible.
The two women and a male suspect were arrested at the weekend over the killing of Jabulile Ntimba, whose body was found on September 17 and was the ninth victim, police said.
Prosecutors said the women, aged 31 and 38, had been charged with murder, perverting the cause of justice and possession of a dangerous weapon.
As in most of the cases, Ntimba’s body was found on the side of the road, partly clothed.
The third suspect — the brother of one of the women detained — was not charged because of “insufficient evidence at this stage”, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said.
It said the women would return to court for a bail hearing on October 1.
“It is alleged that the accused were known to the deceased and were together with her on the night of the incident,” the NPA said.
Deputy police chief Tebello Mosikili had said earlier that the murder appeared to “may have stemmed from a relationship-related matter, including what has been described as a possible love triangle”.
Gender-based violence is endemic in South Africa, despite years of government pledges to tackle the problem and the declaration of gender-based violence as a national disaster.
– Investigations –
On Monday, President Cyril Ramaphosa echoed the police pledge that those responsible for the killings would be brought to book.
“We will be pulling out all stops to find these perpetrators,” he told journalists, vowing additional measures to tackle violence against women.
“We are going to be deploying more money, more resources, more technology, to ensure that we deal with the fear that women are now subjected to,” he said.
The latest arrests bring to three the number of people held by police in connection with the Kempton Park killings.
A man arrested over the murder of a woman whose body was found in July remains in custody and is due back in court on October 28, police said.
“We are not going to rush these investigations simply to make arrests. We owe it to the victims, we owe it to their families and we owe it to justice to get this right,” Mosikili said.
Separately, police said another woman was found dead on Sunday in Soweto, south of Johannesburg, her body wrapped in a duvet and dumped near a dam.
Police also said two alleged serial rapists were due in court in KwaZulu-Natal province.
A 46-year-old man has been linked by DNA to 16 rape cases in Durban, while a 36-year-old man has been linked to at least 14 cases across two provinces.
South Africa has a murder rate of more than 60 a day on average, one of the highest globally.
