Lesufi calls urgent GBV crisis meeting amid Ekurhuleni murders

Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi is set to convene an urgent meeting with mayors, municipal managers, and law enforcement agencies to bolster the province's response to gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF). Following the meeting, Lesufi will provide a media briefing on Friday, 2 October 2026, at 11am. This meeting comes in response to President Cyril Ramaphosa's national address on Wednesday, following a series of killings in Ekurhuleni, Gauteng, where at least eleven women were murdered. Heads of national Ministries have been invited to attend the urgent gathering.

The Gauteng Provincial Government asserts that the meeting will scrutinize the province's current strategies, pinpoint shortcomings, and devise supplementary measures to bolster prevention, enhance safety and security—particularly for women and children, improve law enforcement coordination, and bolster support for GBV survivors. "Upon completion, Premier Lesufi will address the press regarding the Province's GBVF response plan," the government stated.

While some experts have welcomed Ramaphosa's comprehensive and timely strategy to combat GBV, others argue that it is reminiscent of previous efforts. However, most agree that the plan's success hinges on whether authorities can overcome South Africa's persistent struggle to implement existing plans. Ramaphosa's strategy, outlined in his address to the nation on Tuesday night, includes a national case recovery operation to audit unresolved murders and sexual offenses within 60 days, a funded plan to reduce forensic backlogs and establish turnaround standards within 60 days, municipal women's safety audits to identify hazards like broken streetlights and unsafe transport routes within the same timeframe, and a coordinated legislative package to address alcohol-related violence within 60 days.

Critics, such as Brenda Madumise-Pajibo, director of feminist organization Wise 4 Afrika, dismiss the announcement as "nothing new," pointing to previous government interventions that have failed to yield meaningful results.