Fear and anger in South Africa as bodies of nine women found: What we know 

The bodies of nine women have been found in South Africa’s Ekurhuleni municipality over the past two months, prompting police to investigate potential connections between the crimes.

The apparent murders, which bear similarities, have shaken the country, long plagued by high rates of crime and femicide and sparked fears that one or more offenders could strike again.

President Cyril Ramaphosa, who urged men to play a greater part in preventing violence against women and girls, has ordered the police to leave “no stone unturned” in their pursuit of justice.

The rate at which women are killed in South Africa is five times higher than the global average, according to figures from UN Women.

Here’s what we know so far:

When was the latest killing?

South African police made their latest discovery on Thursday, September 17 , when they found the body of a woman in Dawn Park on the outskirts of Johannesburg in Ekurhuleni municipality.

Local police said the unidentified, partially clothed woman, believed to be around 30, had been stabbed and dumped before being discovered.

Police said she may have been killed at another location before her body was moved to the park.

She is the ninth known woman to be killed in similar circumstances since July 17 .

Where were the other bodies found?

All the murdered women were found in Ekurhuleni municipality in the greater Johannesburg area.

The first five bodies were found in the Kempton Park area. The others were found in separate locations 25-35km away.

Dawn Park, where the latest body was found, is about 30km south of Kempton Park.

Do we know who the victims are?

Of the nine women whose bodies have been discovered, only four have been identified, according to local media.

The battered and burned body of Dineo Motapane, a 38-year-old mother of two, was discovered this week in a residential area of Ekurhuleni.

The body of 28-year-old Gracious Nkomo, also partially clothed, was found on September 10, having been dumped on the R21 highway in Kempton Park.

Last week, 38-year-old Elizabeth Moselakgomo was also found dead in Kempton Park. Local media reported that her young daughter alerted the police when she failed to return from a run.

Itumeleng Kekana, 32, was a shopkeeper. Her bruised and partially clothed body was found dumped on a bridge in July, 17 days after she was last seen by family members.

Five of the women have not yet been identified.

Police say they have not established whether the crimes are connected or if they were committed by one or more perpetrators.

However, police are probing potential links after noting similarities in the ages of the victims and the conditions in which they were found.

All are believed to have been in their 20s or 30s and some were found either naked or partially clothed, according to police. Some of the bodies also had similar bruising.

As local women voice fears of a serial killer, Fred Kekana, police commissioner of the Gauteng province where Ekurhuleni is , cautioned against hastily coming to conclusions.

“Investigators are considering all possibilities, including the possibility of multiple suspects or separate perpetrators,” said Kekana. “Police are comparing the evidence, timelines, locations, victim profiles and circumstances of each case before reaching conclusions.”

Are there any suspects?

At least one suspect has been detained by police.

Deputy police commissioner Tebello Mosikili said the suspect appeared in court on Wednesday and would remain in custody. Police received information suggesting the suspect was not a South African national and were working to verify that, Mosikili said.

Acting national police commissioner Puleng Dimpane also said police were looking into a person of interest, but it was unclear whether she was referring to the same suspect.

Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi said whoever is responsible had effectively “declared war against the state” and expressed confidence that police would solve the case.

“We’ll get them,” he told South African media. “And I have trust in the law enforcement agencies.”

What else have police said?

Police have urged the public to report any information they believe could assist the investigation and offered a reward of 400,000 rand ($25,000) for information leading to an arrest.

Police have also advised women in the area to be on heightened alert and to avoid walking or running alone near Kempton Park, where some of the bodies were found.

The National Shelter Movement of South Africa (NSMSA), which funds shelters for women and children affected by gender-based violence, said women already take extensive precautions for their safety and that authorities should not put the onus on women to prevent violence.

“Safety messaging should not imply that women can prevent violence simply by making different choices,” the organisation told Al Jazeera. “The responsibility for violence lies with perpetrators, while the responsibility for protection lies with society and the state.”

“We are not dealing with an issue of women who are not vigilant,” added Philisiwe Gabela, an official with the country’s Commission for Gender Equality.

President Ramaphosa last month called on men in South Africa to take a stand against gender-based violence and femicide by signing a virtual pledge.

He has argued that perpetrators of sexual assault and domestic violence are predominantly male, so men must hold each other accountable, challenge harmful patriarchal norms and report abuse of women to the police.

How has the public reacted?

The killings have triggered widespread fear and anger about gender-based violence, which South Africa has one of the world’s highest rates of.

“I am feeling a lot of fear and paranoia, especially for ‌‌us ⁠⁠with daughters,” Ekurhuleni area resident Nomgqibelo Tshabalala told Reuters.

Between 2020 and 2021, an average of 5.5 out of 100,000 women in South Africa were killed by intimate partners, according to the South African Medical Research Council.

South African police recorded 9,782 reported rapes between January and March this year and 12,590 sexual offences. That amounts to roughly 108 reported rapes every day. It is widely known that many women do not report rape because of the fear of stigmatisation or reprisals.

Princess Eurika Mogane, a commissioner at South Africa’s Commission for Gender Equality, told Al Jazeera the latest killings reflect the broader crisis facing South African women. “This is a war. It feels like individuals are being hunted,” she said.

The UN South Africa said the killings are not “isolated tragedies”.

“They reflect the persistent and deadly violence faced by women and girls in South Africa.”