JOHANNESBURG — The Ahmed Kathrada Foundation expresses its deep horror, outrage, and profound sadness following the tragic discovery of the bodies of six women in the Kempton Park and Olifantsfontein areas over the last two months.
The latest victims include local runner Elizabeth “Tsontso” Moselakgomo, who went missing after going for a routine afternoon jog and whose body was discovered behind a hotel in Rhodesfield on Saturday, 12 September. Just two days later, on Monday, 14 September, a fifth unidentified woman’s body was discovered bruised and partially clothed on the side of a road in Olifantsfontein.
The Foundation sends its deepest and most heartfelt condolences to the family, friends, and loved ones of Elizabeth Moselakgomo, as well as the families of the other victims whose lives have been cruelly cut short.
Systemic Failures Shift the Burden of Safety onto Women
Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF) has long been declared a national crisis in South Africa. While we understand and acknowledge that the South African Police Service (SAPS) issued warnings for women not to walk or exercise alone out of a practical, immediate concern for public safety, the Foundation emphasizes that this cannot be the baseline standard for security in a free society.
The sad reality is that women are already carrying the exhausting, daily burden of managing their own safety. The true failure lies in the systemic breakdowns—insufficient proactive policing, a lack of intelligence-led interventions, and poorly lit or unmonitored public spaces—that force such restrictive measures upon citizens in the first place. The responsibility to secure our streets must rest squarely on the state and law enforcement, rather than perpetually relying on potential victims to modify their basic freedom of movement.
Demands for Decisive Intervention
The principles of human dignity, justice, and equality — values for which our founder Ahmed Kathrada and countless struggle stalwarts fought — cannot exist in a society where women live in perpetual terror.
The Ahmed Kathrada Foundation demands:
- A Comprehensive, Swift Investigation: We note the establishment of the SAPS multidisciplinary task team. We demand that this team be provided with every necessary resource to track down, apprehend, and successfully prosecute the monsters behind these atrocities without delay.
- Deployment of Crime-Fighting Infrastructure: The Gauteng Provincial Government and local municipalities must account for the deployment and operational success of crime-fighting technology, visible policing, and high-density surveillance in hotspots like the R21 corridor and Rhodesfield.
- Institutional Accountability: The National Council on GBVF and law enforcement oversight bodies must exercise teeth to investigate the lag in public warnings and communication when the first patterns of these killings emerged.
- Active Societal and Male Intervention: We call upon men, local businesses, and community structures in Ekurhuleni and across South Africa to shatter the silence around misogyny, control, and violence. Violence against women is a societal crisis that men must actively work to dismantle.
We stand in absolute solidarity with civil society movements, including Women For Change, local taxi operators, and local residents who are taking to the streets to demand justice. We will not look away, and we will not remain silent while the women of our country are systematically murdered.
For Media Enquiries:
The Ahmed Kathrada Foundation
Phone: +27 (0)11 854 0082
Email: media@kathradafoundation.org
Website: www.kathradafoundation.org
