Street safety discussed in Ekurhuleni after killings of women
In the South African city of Ekurhuleni, where eight women were killed over two months, police have launched a search for those involved. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, according to the source, also announced a search. The only publicly identified victim was Elizabeth “Tsontso” Moselakgomo — a mother and runner whose final run began on the R21 highway.
Broken lighting and neglected streets
As Daily Maverick reports, journalists who visited near the crime scenes at night documented the absence of working street lighting on roads in Johannesburg, Kempton Park and Ekurhuleni. Sections of the M1 South, R24 and R21 highways remained dark, while in the Rhodesfield residential area, the weak light from street lamps barely illuminated the streets.
Visibility is also worsened by tall grass along roads, cracked sidewalks and deep ditches. Barbara Holtmann, a feminist urban safety specialist at the consulting company Fixed.Africa, said that responsibility for safe urban spaces should rest not only with police but also with municipalities. According to her, police and city authorities should jointly identify dangerous locations and respond to infrastructure problems.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Holtmann stressed that lighting, open space, well-maintained parks and accessible pedestrian routes are important for women’s safety. She noted that women often move around the city with children and strollers or while carrying out everyday errands, and therefore need well-lit routes.
Council on gender-based violence
The Safetipin safety audit assesses public spaces according to nine criteria: lighting, the condition of pedestrian routes, the openness and visibility of space, transport accessibility, the presence of security and people, women’s use of the place and their sense of safety.
Violence against women in South Africa was declared a national disaster in November 2025. Lebogang Ramalepe, chair of the National Council on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide, said the council would consider the situation in Ekurhuleni as an urgent matter at its meeting on September 29. She said the body plans to request a closed briefing from the South African police on the investigation of the cases, as well as hold consultations with the Gauteng provincial authorities and Ekurhuleni city authorities. According to her, the council has been operating for only six weeks and does not yet have a chief executive officer.
