Police are investigating the murder and robbery of a 23-year-old woman who was reportedly on her way to work when she was shot dead in Thembisa, Ekurhuleni, on Monday morning.
Gauteng police said the woman was found in Temong, on Mapungubwe Street, at about 5.45am.
“She was reportedly on her way to work when she was shot and killed during an alleged robbery. Her belongings were taken during the incident,” Gauteng police spokesperson Brigadier Brenda Muridili said in a statement.
The woman has been identified.
The incident comes after a woman's body was found near a railway line in Struisbult, Springs, on Sunday after a security company vehicle spotted it and alerted police. Gauteng police commissioner Lieutenant General Tommy Mthombeni said preliminary investigations indicated that the woman, believed to be in her early 20s, had recently been murdered.
On Saturday, the body of Ntombifuthu Nxumalo was found at Mooifontein Cemetery in Tembisa. Police arrested a suspect in connection with Nxumalo’s murder after tracing him to Limpopo.
Police said preliminary investigations have not established any link between the incidents since Saturday with the recent cases involving the bodies of other women found in Ekurhuleni. Police are investigating nine other murders of women in Ekurhuleni in an investigation being coordinated by the deputy national commissioner for detective services.
The murders have sparked a significant public outcry over gender-based violence and femicide, with President Cyril Ramaphosa announcing on Heritage Day that he would address the nation in the coming days on gender-based violence and the government’s response to the killings of women in and around Ekurhuleni.
In his daily newsletter published on Monday, Ramaphosa said abuse, rape and killing of women is a stain on our national conscience.
“We cannot claim to be a society founded on freedom, equality and human dignity while half of our population lives in fear of violence,” he said.
Police are appealing to anyone with information to contact their local police station or #CrimeStop on 08600 10111, or send tip-offs via the #MySAPSApp.