Ramaphosa Under Pressure as Ekurhuleni Women’s Death Toll Hits 11: ‘What We Have Done Has Not Been Enough’

President Cyril Ramaphosa has put names and faces to South Africa’s worsening gender-based violence crisis, identifying women and girls killed in recent weeks as public anger grows over a series of deaths across the country.

Addressing the nation on Tuesday night, 29 September, Ramaphosa said 11 women’s bodies had now been discovered in Ekurhuleni since July. He stressed, however, that the victims he named represented only a fraction of the women and girls who have recently lost their lives to violence.

‘Theirs are the names we know’

Among those named by the President were Busisiwe Mahlangu, Itumeleng Kekana, Nomfesane Mjobo, Gracious Nkomo, Elizabeth Moselakgomo, Dineo Motapane, Jabulile Ntimba and Ntombifuthi Nxumalo.

A further body discovered in Springs on Sunday brought the number of women found dead in Ekurhuleni since July to 11.

Ramaphosa said the true scale of the crisis extends beyond the cases that have received widespread public attention.

“There are others whose names we do not know yet,” he said, warning that unidentified women remain in government mortuaries while authorities work to establish their identities and locate their families.

Victims remembered beyond Ekurhuleni

The President also highlighted cases from other parts of South Africa, including the deaths of women and girls from 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.

Ramaphosa said every victim represented a devastating loss to a family and community.

“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,” he said.

President admits government has fallen short

Ramaphosa acknowledged that the government’s response to gender-based violence has failed to deliver the level of protection women need.

“What we have done has not been enough,” he said.

“It has not been enough to prevent women from being killed.”

The President noted that he had addressed the nation about the same crisis seven years ago, yet South Africa was still confronting deadly violence against women.

“The names of the victims are new, but the crime is not,” he said.

He conceded that authorities had not done enough to make women feel safe in their homes, workplaces, schools, on public transport or on the streets.

Ekurhuleni investigation moved to national level

Against that backdrop, the investigation into the Ekurhuleni killings has been elevated to the national level.

A specialised multidisciplinary team is being coordinated by the Deputy National Commissioner for Detective Services and includes detectives, Crime Intelligence officers, forensic specialists, investigative psychologists and digital investigators.

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research is also assisting with digital forensic investigations.

Police have already made arrests in some of the cases. A suspect has been arrested over the death of Ntombifuthi Nxumalo, while two suspects have appeared in court in connection with the killing of Jabulile Ntimba. Another suspect remains in custody over the murder of Busisiwe Mahlangu.

Investigators have collected DNA, blood samples, clothing, mobile phones and cellphone records as they attempt to establish what happened and whether there are links between the cases.

Police have not confirmed a serial killer

The concentration of bodies in Ekurhuleni has generated widespread speculation that a single perpetrator could be responsible.

Ramaphosa said police had not found evidence to establish that the deaths were committed by one person.

“At present, the police have not found evidence establishing that these killings were committed by a single perpetrator,” he said.

He added that investigators were keeping every possibility open.

“All possibilities remain under investigation.”

Families urged to report missing women immediately

Ramaphosa revealed that only two of the women found dead in Ekurhuleni had been reported missing.

He used the revelation to remind the public that there is no legal requirement 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 anyone with potentially relevant information to contact law enforcement.

“If you know something, say something.”

‘These cases will not be allowed to go cold’

For families mourning their loved ones, Ramaphosa promised that the state would continue pursuing the investigations.

“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.

He said government was deploying the resources available to establish what happened and identify those responsible, while promising further updates where doing so would not compromise investigations.

Ramaphosa rejects victim blaming

The President also used the address to reject arguments that women somehow contribute to the violence inflicted upon them.

“Responsibility for violence always belongs to the person who commits it, never the victim,” Ramaphosa said.

He said women should not have to consider whether their clothing, movements, relationships or personal choices might make them targets.

“No woman causes herself to be abused. No item of clothing causes rape. No argument justifies assault.”

He also stressed that relationships do not give one person ownership over another and that rejection or separation can never justify violence.

A warning for the next seven years

Ramaphosa ended with a challenge to government and wider society to ensure that the same crisis does not dominate another presidential address years from now.

“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 to turn their anger and grief into action, saying the women whose lives had been taken should be remembered not merely through speeches but through concrete efforts to prevent further killings.

For the families still waiting for answers, the test will now be whether the national investigation and renewed political attention produce arrests, prosecutions and accountability.