Police investigate tenth woman’s death in South Africa’s Ekurhuleni

South African police are investigating the death of an unidentified woman whose semi-naked body was found near a cemetery in Tembisa township, Ekurhuleni, east of Johannesburg.

The discovery brings to 10 the number of women found dead in the area over a two-month period. Police have not established whether the cases are connected.

Brigadier Brenda Muridili, a police spokeswoman, said crime scene management teams and other required personnel were at the location. “At this stage, we can only confirm the discovery of the body,” she said.

Cause of death pending examination

Provincial police chief Tommy Mthombeni said the victim appeared to have been stoned to death. A post-mortem examination was expected to determine the cause of death.

“We have put highly capable investigators on this case,” Mthombeni told reporters at the scene. Police have said they are working to determine whether the deaths form part of a connected series.

The nine other victims were mostly in their 20s and 30s. Some were found without clothes and showed signs of sexual assault, according to the report.

The first victim identified in the investigation was a 37-year-old woman found naked and bound with cable ties on July 15. A suspect was arrested two days later.

Two women, aged 31 and 38, were also arrested in connection with the ninth victim and charged on Monday. Police said that death may have resulted from a relationship-related matter. The source did not report any convictions in the cases.

Rewards offered for information

Police have offered a 400,000-rand reward, listed as about $25,000, for information leading to the arrest of the killer or killers. The Democratic Alliance announced an additional $31,000.

The investigation comes amid wider concern about gender-based violence in South Africa. The national Gender-Based Violence Command Centre received 6,782 distress calls between September 1 and 16, an average of 424 calls a day. That daily average was reported to be 21 percent higher than the 350 calls recorded per day during the same period in August.

Gender-based violence has been described as endemic in South Africa and has been declared a national disaster. The country also has one of the world’s highest murder rates, with more than 60 killings reported on average each day.