South Africans gathered for memorial runs and protests this week after the killings of nine women near Johannesburg reignited anger and fear over violence that many say mirrors the dangers women face every day.
Police have found the bodies of nine women in Ekurhuleni, east of Johannesburg, over the past two months and are investigating whether the killings are linked.
Most of the victims were in their 20s and 30s. Some were found stripped of their clothes and showed signs of sexual assault.
A memorial run in Johannesburg on Saturday morning honoured one of the victims, Elizabeth Moselakgomo, who disappeared after going for a run and was found dead days later. Runners lit candles and carried a banner reading: “Enough. Stop Femicide.”
“We are here because we’ve lost a runner. But we are not safe anywhere,” said Lerato Lentsela, one of dozens of people who dressed in black for the memorial run.
“We are not safe running, we are not safe at a post office, we are not safe on a date, we are not safe in our own homes, we are not safe in an Uber.”
The killings have reignited anger over violence against women in South Africa, where gender-based violence was declared a national disaster in 2025. Many women say the heightened attention and official promises have done little to make them feel safer.
“Enough is enough. Our women deserve to live, walk, run and exist without fear,” the Uyinene Mrwetyana Foundation, a charity that campaigns against gender-based violence, said in a statement.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Thursday that South Africa could not allow itself to grow accustomed to such violence and pledged that no stone would be left unturned in the investigations.
But policing in South Africa is weakened by corruption and lack of resources. Only about one in 10 murders is ever solved.
“We need to relook at our policing. The only reason these nine women were found was because there was more police presence in the area. This problem is countrywide,” said Merlize Jogiat of Women for Change, which held a memorial event in Cape Town on Friday.
Some women also criticised police advice urging them to take extra precautions when exercising or walking alone.
“Stop placing the responsibility of our safety back onto us,” Women for Change said in a social media post. “Women should not have to organise their entire lives around surviving violence and not being next.”
