President Cyril Ramaphosa has ordered a series of urgent, time-bound measures to address gender-based violence and femicide after the discovery of 11 women’s bodies in Ekurhuleni since July intensified public anger and fears about the safety of women across South Africa.
In a televised address to the nation on Tuesday, Ramaphosa said the killings represented a national failure and acknowledged that government action to prevent violence, protect women and secure convictions had not been sufficient.
“What we have done has not been enough. We need to do much more,” the president said.
National investigation into Ekurhuleni killings
Ramaphosa said the Ekurhuleni cases had been placed under the highest level of government and law-enforcement attention.
The Inter-Ministerial Committee on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide has approved an emergency response, while a specialised multidisciplinary investigation has been elevated to the national level under the coordination of the Deputy National Commissioner for Detective Services.
The team includes detectives, Crime Intelligence officials, forensic specialists, investigative psychologists and digital investigators. The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research is assisting with digital forensic work.
Arrests have already been made in several cases. Police arrested a suspect in connection with killing of Ntombifuthi Nxumalo, whose body was found on Saturday.
Two suspects have appeared in court in connection with the killing of Jabulile Ntimba, while another suspect is in custody over the murder of Busisiwe Mahlangu.
Investigators have also identified persons of interest in other cases and collected DNA, blood samples, clothing, cellphones and cellphone records.
The president said police had not found evidence that the killings were the work of a single perpetrator, although every possibility remained under investigation. He promised the families that the cases would not be allowed to go cold.
Ramaphosa urged the public to report missing people immediately, stressing that there is no legal requirement to wait 24 hours.
He said only two of the women found dead in Ekurhuleni had been reported missing, and appealed for information such as photographs, vehicle-registration numbers, messages and observations that could assist investigators.
Visible policing in Ekurhuleni has also been increased and will continue for as long as necessary, he said.
Four immediate measures
The president announced four directives intended to move the national response beyond policing after a murder has occurred and towards prevention and case recovery.
1. Audit and recover stalled cases
The police and justice ministers, working with the South African Police Service and, with due regard to prosecutorial independence, the National Prosecuting Authority, must conduct a national case-recovery operation.
The review will focus on unresolved murders, attempted murders, rapes and serious sexual offences involving women and children.
Within 60 days, authorities must identify the number and age of unresolved cases, cases awaiting forensic evidence, cases where suspects have been identified but not arrested, and matters delayed because of investigative or prosecutorial failures.
Within 90 days, priority cases must have individual recovery plans setting out the
outstanding work, the responsible official and a deadline for progress.
2. Reduce forensic backlogs
The police minister, national police commissioner and relevant forensic authorities must produce a funded plan within 60 days to reduce forensic backlogs and establish turnaround
standards for priority gender-based violence and femicide cases.
The plan must detail the size and age of the backlog, staffing and equipment shortages, required resources and target dates for clearing the backlog.
Priority samples in rape and murder cases involving women and children are to be ring-fenced for urgent processing,
with progress reported publicly every quarter.
3. Audit women’s safety in municipalities
Every municipality must begin a women’s safety audit, identifying high-risk locations and conditions, including broken streetlights, overgrown public spaces, abandoned buildings, unsafe transport routes and poorly secured parks.
The audits must be completed within 60 days. Within 90 days of completion, the most urgent hazards must either be fixed or included in a funded implementation plan with clear deadlines.
The findings and progress will be published for communities to monitor.
Provincial and municipal authorities have also been instructed to intensify enforcement of liquor laws and by-laws, particularly against unlicensed outlets and businesses operating outside permitted hours.
4. Address alcohol-related violence
The minister of trade, industry and competition, working with the health, social development, police and cooperative governance ministers, must submit a coordinated legislative and enforcement package to Cabinet within 60 days to reduce alcohol-related violence.
Ramaphosa stressed that alcohol does not cause gender-based violence and can never excuse it, but said harmful alcohol use is a significant aggravating factor in interpersonal violence and must form part of the prevention response.
The Inter-Ministerial Committee and the National Council on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide will monitor implementation. A first consolidated public report is due within 90 days, followed by quarterly updates.
Existing programmes to be strengthened
Ramaphosa said gender- based violence and femicide had been classified as a national disaster the previous year, prompting the reprioritisation of resources and closer coordination across the criminal-justice system and survivor-support services.
The National Council on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide is now operational. Government is also strengthening the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Units, expanding Sexual Offences Courts and increasing support for Thuthuzela Care Centres, which provide medical, forensic, counselling and legal services.
Shelter services and forensic processing are being expanded, while laws have been.tightened to make it more difficult for alleged perpetrators of gender-based violence and domestic abuse to obtain bail.
Police stations have established Victim Friendly Services and gender-based violence desks, and officers are receiving specialised training.
The president warned, however, that programmes would have little meaning if victims were turned away at police stations, forced to move between offices to obtain protection orders, or left waiting while forensic samples remained unprocessed.
Focus on prevention and social norms
Ramaphosa said govt could not “police” or “arrest” its way out of the crisis alone. He argued that gender- based violence begins before physical assault, in attitudes that treat women as inferior, regard control as protection and dismiss harassment or abuse as private family matters.
Citing a South African Medical Research Council study, he said more than 60% of women murdered in 2021 and 2022 were killed by an intimate partner. The greatest threat, he said, is often not an unknown attacker but someone a woman knows, trusts or loves.
He called on families, schools, universities, workplaces, faith communities, sports organisations and community groups to teach boys about consent, rejection and responsibility.
He directed the minister of sport, arts and culture to strengthen the Moral
Regeneration Movement and ensure that it contributes to changing the social norms that enable violence against women.
Ramaphosa also issued a direct appeal to men and boys to challenge friends, colleagues and relatives who humiliate, harass or abuse women.
“It is time for good men to stop being silent men,” he said, citing public calls by figures including Siya Kolisi and Temba
Bavuma for men to confront violence against women.
He rejected victim-blaming, saying that responsibility for violence always lies with the person who commits it—not the victim. No clothing, argument, rejection or relationship, he said, can justify rape, assault or murder.
As South Africa prepares for the annual 16 Days of Activism against Gender- Based Violence campaign, Ramaphosa called for a broader social movement to end the violence.
He closed by saying that seven years from now, no president should have to address the country about the same crisis in the same terms.
“Not simply to mourn. Not simply to condemn. But to act—and to keep acting until every woman and every girl in South Africa can live in freedom, in dignity and in safety”, the President concluded.
