PRETORIA – Addressing South Africans in a national broadcast on Tuesday evening (29 September), President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a series of immediate emergency interventions to combat the nation’s severe gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) crisis.
The address follows public outrage and national grief sparked by the discovery of 12 young women’s bodies across the Ekurhuleni Municipality – including Kempton Park, Tembisa and Springs – and an additional victim found in Soweto over the past eight weeks.
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Suspects in custody
In his opening remarks, President Ramaphosa provided a direct briefing on the progress made by multidisciplinary law-enforcement agencies investigating the serial killings:
- Suspects detained: Four suspects are currently in custody in connection with three of the Ekurhuleni murders, with bail successfully denied in all court appearances to date.
- Active manhunt: The specialised South African Police Service (SAPS) unit, working alongside crime intelligence, is pursuing several high-profile persons of interest linked to the remaining unsolved cases.
- Forensic prioritisation: DNA processing and crime lab turnarounds for GBVF evidence across Gauteng have been placed under an expedited priority protocol.
Comprehensive emergency strategy
Approved by the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (IMC on GBVF), the newly unveiled national measures emphasise rapid deterrence, survivor support and court efficiency:
| Intervention area | Strategic measures |
| Law enforcement | Deployment of specialised SAPS homicide and forensic task units directly to high-risk zones in Gauteng. |
| Judicial action | Strict enforcement of anti-GBVF legal amendments restricting bail for violent offenders and enforcing mandatory life sentences. |
| Public safety and surveillance | Increased visible policing along transit corridors, integration of municipal safety panic buttons, and community watch networks. |
| Community mobilisation | Expansion of victim support centres and crisis lines across impacted municipalities. |
A call to end the culture of silence
Reflecting on the horror of recent weeks, President Ramaphosa stressed that ending violence against women requires a total societal shift, particularly among men.
“The murder of women by those who live among us is a shame on our nation. No culture, no tradition, and no circumstance can ever justify violence against women,” the President said.
“The full power of the state is being mobilised, but society as a whole must break the silence that enables these perpetrators to walk among us.”
The President concluded by assuring citizens that government structures and law-enforcement agencies will remain on high-alert deployment across affected regions until all perpetrators are brought to justice.
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