Women found killed in South African municipality rise to 11

South African police announced on Sunday that another woman's body had been discovered in a municipality east of Johannesburg, increasing the total of women found dead in the area to 11 over a 10-week period. In the most recent incident, the body was discovered around midday in an open field within the Ekurhuleni municipality by a security company vehicle patrolling the region, which promptly alerted the police.

The identity, age, and cause of death of the woman remain unknown as of now. Earlier, on Saturday, a semi-naked woman's body was found near a cemetery in the same municipality, with indications suggesting she had been stoned to death. Post-mortem examination is scheduled to determine the exact cause of her death. Additionally, a man connected to the killing was apprehended nearly 400 kilometers away on Sunday, bringing the number of individuals in police custody related to these killings to four.

Police have not established any direct links between the various cases. The nine other victims were predominantly in their 20s and 30s, some found without their clothes and displaying evidence of sexual assault. Despite years of government promises to address the issue, gender-based violence remains widespread in South Africa, with the national GBV Command Centre receiving an average of 424 distress calls per day from September 1 to 16, a 21% increase compared to the same period in August.