‘The nation is angry’: Ramaphosa names slain women and girls
President Cyril Ramaphosa has named several of the women and girls killed across South Africa in recent weeks as he confronted the country’s deepening gender-based violence crisis.
During his address to the nation on Tuesday night, 29 September, Ramaphosa said the number of women’s bodies found in Ekurhuleni since July had risen to 11, before naming victims from Gauteng and other parts of the country.
He said the names represented only some of the women and girls whose lives had been taken.
“These are only some of the women and girls whose lives have been taken away from us in recent weeks,” Ramaphosa said.
“Theirs are the names we know. There are others whose names we do not know yet.”
Ramaphosa also spoke of unidentified women still lying in government mortuaries, waiting for families to claim them and take them home for burial.
“There are women lying tonight in government mortuaries waiting to be identified, waiting for someone to claim them, waiting to be taken home and laid to rest,” he said.
The address came after weeks of killings in Ekurhuleni that have triggered a national-level police investigation and intensified scrutiny of South Africa’s response to gender-based violence and femicide.
Ramaphosa names Ekurhuleni victims
Ramaphosa named several women whose deaths have formed part of the wave of killings under investigation in Ekurhuleni.
Another woman’s body found in Springs on Sunday pushed the number of women found dead in Ekurhuleni since July to 11.
Police have made arrests in some cases and identified persons of interest in others.
Investigators have also collected DNA, blood samples, clothing, cellphones and cellphone records as they try to establish whether any of the cases are linked.
The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research is assisting with digital forensic work.
‘There are others whose names we do not know’
Ramaphosa then widened his address beyond Ekurhuleni and named women and girls killed elsewhere in South Africa.
He referred to victims from communities including Delft, Orlando East, Komani, Richmond, Limpopo and Port Alfred.
Among those he mentioned were 10-year-old Octavia Swartz, Nomakwezi Zeta, Josephine Tshabalala, Siyavuya Mlunguza, Mariette Mouton, Christina Nyalungu, Sibongile Mthali, 15-year-old Amokhela Mutswaiedi, Pinky Shalembe, Nombizane Mbanjwa and Amanda Gosani.
He said those names still did not capture the full scale of the violence.
“Behind each of these terrible deaths was a human being, a daughter, a mother, a sister, a friend, an aunt, a grandmother, whose life had value, whose future mattered and whose absence has left a family and a community grieving,” Ramaphosa said.
‘The nation is angry’
Ramaphosa opened his address by acknowledging the anger and grief surrounding the killings.
“The nation is angry. The women of South Africa are angry. Their anger is justified. I too share that anger,” he said.
He described violence against women as a source of “profound pain and national shame”.
Ramaphosa said women across South Africa were living with the fear that they could be next.
“No woman should have to live with that fear.”
Ramaphosa admits government has not done enough
The President also made a direct admission about government’s response to gender-based violence.
“What we have done has not been enough,” he said.
“It has not been enough to prevent women from being killed.”
Ramaphosa recalled addressing South Africans about the same crisis seven years ago.
“What weighs on me most is that seven years ago, in this same month, I stood before the nation to speak about the same crisis,” he said.
“Yet here we are, once more having to confront the terrible reality of violence against women in our country.”
He said the identities of the victims had changed, but the violence had not.
“The names of the victims are new, but the crime is not.”
Ramaphosa said government had also failed to make women safe in their homes, on the streets, on public transport, at work and in places of learning.
“As President of the Republic, I acknowledge this. As government, we must do better.”
Ekurhuleni killings probe elevated nationally
Ramaphosa confirmed that authorities had elevated the investigation into the Ekurhuleni killings to national level.
The Deputy National Commissioner for Detective Services is coordinating the specialised multidisciplinary investigation.
The team includes detectives, Crime Intelligence, forensic specialists, investigative psychologists, digital investigators and other specialist capabilities.
Police have already made arrests in some of the cases.
A suspect was arrested in connection with the killing of Ntombifuthi Nxumalo, whose body was found at Mooifontein Cemetery in Thembisa.
Two suspects have also appeared in court in connection with Jabulile Ntimba’s killing, while another suspect remains in custody in connection with Busisiwe Mahlangu’s murder.
In other cases, police have identified persons of interest and continue to analyse forensic evidence.
No evidence yet of a single killer
Ramaphosa also addressed fears that one person could be responsible for several of the deaths.
“At present, the police have not found evidence establishing that these killings were committed by a single perpetrator,” he said.
However, investigators have not ruled out other possibilities.
“All possibilities remain under investigation.”
The clustering of several cases in and around Ekurhuleni has fuelled public concern and placed increasing pressure on police to determine whether any of the killings are connected.
Only two victims had been reported missing
Ramaphosa also revealed that only two of the women found dead in Ekurhuleni had been reported missing.
He stressed that families do not need to wait 24 hours before reporting someone missing.
“There is no requirement to wait 24 hours before reporting a person missing,” he said.
The President urged South Africans with information about the cases to approach police.
“If you know something, say something.”
‘These cases will not be allowed to go cold’
Ramaphosa promised the families of the women killed in Ekurhuleni that authorities would continue pursuing those responsible.
“To the families of the women who have been brutally killed, I say that these cases will not be allowed to go cold,” he said.
“The state is bringing together its available capabilities to establish what happened and to identify those responsible.”
He said government would continue providing updates without compromising ongoing investigations.
Ramaphosa says women should not live in fear
The President said South African women should not have to constantly calculate whether an everyday decision could put them in danger.
He said women should not have to think about where they could walk, what time they could travel, what they could wear, whom they could trust or whether rejecting someone could place their lives at risk.
Ramaphosa also rejected any attempt to blame victims for the violence committed against them.
“Responsibility for violence always belongs to the person who commits it, never the victim,” he said.
“No woman causes herself to be abused. No item of clothing causes rape. No argument justifies assault.”
He added that no relationship gave one person ownership over another.
“No rejection should justify violence. And no man has the right to take the life of a woman because she chooses to leave him.”
‘No President should have to say this again’
Ramaphosa ended his address by looking ahead seven years.
“Seven years from now, no President of the Republic should have to stand before this nation and say the same words again,” he said.
He called on South Africans not only to mourn or condemn violence against women, but to act.
“Let us honour the women whose lives have been taken not only through our words but through what we do from this day forward.”
For families who have spent recent weeks identifying bodies, attending court appearances and burying loved ones, those words now come with an expectation that government turns them into action.
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