On September 9, Elizabeth Moselakgomo left her home in East Johannesburg to go for a run.
asserted
Moselakgomo → leave → run
When the 38 year-old mother didn’t return home, her eight year-old daughter told relatives, who then contacted police.
asserted
who → return → police
During her disappearance, family and friends made public appeals to help find her, the case went viral on social media and police launched a task force to investigate.
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police → make → force
Five days after she vanished, her body was discovered in a park, half-naked and bruised.
Ms Moselakgomo is one of nine women found dead in the region in recent months in similar circumstances.
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Moselakgomo → vanish → circumstances
The first body was discovered in July, naked and bound with cable ties, with two more discovered shortly after but drawing little attention at the time.
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two → discover → time
“We cannot continue picking up bodies,” said Tebello Mosikili, the deputy police chief, at the scene of the discovery in Dawn Park on Thursday.
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Mosikili → continue → Thursday
It is not yet clear if the cases are connected and police have yet to rule out a potential serial killer.
Regardless, South African women and advocacy groups say the cases highlight the wider epidemic of femicide across the country, with widespread anger that more has not been done to tackle the problem.
asserted
more → connect → problem
In November 2025, president Cyril Ramaphosa officially declared gender-based violence and femicide a national disaster, after campaigning by Women For Change.
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violence → declare → Change
According to official statistics by the South African Police Service (SAPS), at least 5,578 women were murdered in a year in South Africa between March 2023 and March 2024, after which figures have not been released.
uncertain
figures → accord → which
The UN Office on Drugs and Crime says that the female homicide rate in South Africa is six times the global average at 12.2 per 100,000 women in 2022, with the global average being 2.2.
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average → say → 2022
Police advised women not to run or walk alone in response to the recent killings, prompting swift backlash.
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Police → advise → backlash
President Ramaphosa promised “no stone would be left unturned” in the quest for answers.
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stone → promise → answers
Merlize Jogiat, operations and advocacy manager at Women For Change, says that the charity received 3,000 requests for support between Monday and Wednesday this week alone.
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charity → say → week
Since launching their Survivor Support Line in April 2026, they have had more than 40,000 messages by women and girls on everything from domestic violence, child sexual abuse, as well as the families of femicide victims.
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they → launch → victims
“We speak to families of femicide victims, almost on a daily basis,” says Jogiat.
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Jogiat → speak → basis
I don’t know a single woman that has not to some degree been sexually harassed, abused, or raped.”
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that → know → degree
In east Johannesburg, she says that the situation is dire.
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situation → say → Johannesburg
Women have told her that they are scared to leave their homes, are travelling in groups, and are even learning to operate guns for self-defence.
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they → tell → defence
“As a woman, I’m scared,” writes one woman who works in the area in a text to Merlize.
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who → ’m → Merlize
“I have three girls of my own and I’m afraid for them as well as ALL my nieces.
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I → have → them
It’s like we can’t go to the shop alone anymore, we have to go in pairs or a group.
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we → ’ → pairs
They feel we’re the weaker sex so they can overpower us.”
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they → feel → us
Another woman who lives in an area closest to where the bodies were found, sent a picture of herself signing up for a gun course as she advised others to do the same.
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she → live → same
South Africa’s gender commissioner says women are being “hunted” and Jogiat says that violence against women is a “crisis” but campaigners say not enough is being done.
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enough → say → women
The country’s minister for women, youth and persons with disabilities, Sindisiwe Chikunga, said on Friday the government’s mandate for gender-based violence against women remains largely unfunded.
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mandate → say → women
This is reflected in the DNA backlog, with only 3.5 per cent of samples being processed within the legislated 30-day period.
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cent → reflect → period
Over 175,000 individual samples remain untested and waiting, according to Action Society.
uncertain
samples → remain → Society
Cultural norms and a history of apartheid, which “fundamentally broke the men in this country”, also plays a part, as Jogiat says men sought to exert control over women in response.
“We’re terrified all of the time,” says Jogiat, who fears for her personal safety as well as that of her 16-year-old daughter.
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who → break → daughter
“As South African women we have gotten accustomed to our safety always being in jeopardy.
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safety → get → jeopardy
“Around the world women have to look out for themselves but we have to take it up a notch.
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we → have → notch
“We are watching our backs when we walk in the street in the morning, now we have the police telling us we need to run in groups.
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we → watch → groups
One of my friends said the other day ‘I’m too afraid to go for a coffee and wear this particular thing because I don’t know what kind of attention I’m getting’.
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I → say → attention
“I've had an incident in Johannesburg when I was there with a guy pulling over on the side of the road and wanted to give me a ride, just randomly.
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I → have → ride
Kidnappings have also gone up quite substantially.”
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Kidnappings → go → ?
She worries for her daughter if she does not hear back from her for a couple of hours.
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she → worry → hours
“I don’t even want to leave my house,” she said.
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she → want → house
But Jogiat believes the onus is on the government to find a way through the crisis beyond “PR”.
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onus → believe → PR
“We’ve been screaming about this issue for over ten years,” she says.
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she → scream → years
“All the promises that they give us never translate to anything on the ground.”
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they → give → ground
She says that even simple issues such as bail conditions for alleged sex offenders and abusers are not enforced and a suspect can be released for as little as £250.
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suspect → say → 250
…and 5 more, not listed.
The Aporia
