FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
17 September 2026
PRESS RELEASE
AL JAMA-AH CALLS FOR AN EMERGENCY RESPONSE TO FEMICIDE AND GENDER- BASED VIOLENCE
“South African Women Must Not Have to Live in Fear”
Al Jama-ah expresses its deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of the women whose lives have been brutally taken in recent weeks. The discovery of multiple women’s bodies in the Ekurhuleni and Kempton Park areas has sent shockwaves through communities and once again exposed the devastating reality of gender-based violence and femicide in South Africa.
The South African Police Service has confirmed that multiple women’s bodies have been discovered in the area and has established a dedicated multidisciplinary investigative response. While police have not confirmed that the cases are connected or that a serial killer is responsible, the circumstances are sufficiently serious to demand an urgent and comprehensive national response.
Al Jama-ah is calling for an immediate lockdown of the affected precinct where the nine bodies were discovered, together with the deployment of 200 additional personnel to the area.
Al Jama-ah believes this situation must be treated with a sense of emergency.
The safety of women and children cannot be treated as an issue that receives attention only after another life has been lost. South African women have the right to walk, work, exercise, travel and live in their communities without fear of becoming victims of violence.
AL JAMA-AH CALLS FOR AN EMERGENCY RESPONSE
Al Jama-ah calls on the national government, the Ministry of Police, SAPS and all relevant law- enforcement agencies to immediately escalate the response to these killings and establish an emergency, coordinated operation in affected communities.
We call for:
- A dedicated, adequately resourced investigative task force to urgently investigate every case and establish whether there are links between the killings.
- A major increase in police visibility and patrols in areas where women are at heightened risk, particularly isolated areas, transport routes and locations identified
- through intelligence.
- Intensive cooperation between SAPS, metro police, community policing structures, private security, community organisations and residents to identify suspicious activity and protect vulnerable communities.
- Immediate action on missing-person reports, with investigations beginning without unnecessary delays. Families must never be left feeling that they have to fight for authorities to take their loved ones’ disappearance seriously.
- Improved intelligence-sharing between law-enforcement agencies so that patterns involving missing women, sexual violence, kidnapping and murder can be identified as quickly as possible.
- The maximum resources necessary to identify, arrest and prosecute those responsible, based on credible evidence and due process.
- Urgent safety assessments of affected communities, including lighting, abandoned areas, public transport routes and other locations where women may be vulnerable.
- Greater support for victims, survivors and bereaved families, including access to counselling, victim-support services and clear communication from investigators.
- Meaningful community engagement, because residents are often the first to identify risks and suspicious behaviour in their neighbourhoods.
THE GOVERNMENT MUST ACT WITH URGENCY
We further call on the Premier to deploy 200 additional personnel to the affected precinct without delay, working alongside SAPS, metro police, community policing structures and other relevant agencies.
The purpose of the lockdown must be to protect lives, secure evidence, support the investigation and prevent further victims — while respecting the constitutional rights of residents and ensuring that all law-enforcement action remains lawful and proportionate.
Al Jama-ah recognises that SAPS has already increased police visibility and established a multidisciplinary investigative response to the recent killings. However, the scale of public fear and concern requires government to demonstrate that every available resource is being brought to bear.
This is not the time for complacency, political point-scoring or empty promises.
This is the time for action.
We call on government to consider the declaration of an emergency response framework for the affected areas, with clear lines of accountability, measurable targets, regular public updates and direct engagement with communities.
South Africa cannot normalise the killing of women.
TO THE WOMEN OF SOUTH AFRICA: WE STAND WITH YOU
Al Jama-ah stands firmly with the women and children of South Africa.
We hear the fear, anger and pain of communities. We hear the families demanding answers. We hear women asking a simple but fundamental question:
“When will I be safe?”
Every woman deserves an answer through action — not merely words.
Women should not have to change their lives because perpetrators of violence are allowed to operate with impunity. The burden of preventing violence cannot continually be placed on women themselves. While reasonable safety precautions may be necessary in the immediate circumstances, the responsibility for stopping violent crime belongs to the state, law enforcement and society as a whole.
TO THE PERPETRATORS: YOU WILL BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE
Al Jama-ah calls on investigators to pursue every credible lead and to ensure that anyone found responsible for these horrific crimes is brought before the courts.
There must be no impunity for perpetrators of murder, rape, kidnapping or gender-based violence.
At the same time, allegations must be investigated properly, evidence must guide arrests and prosecutions, and innocent people must not be falsely accused or subjected to vigilante violence.
We urge members of the public who have information that may assist investigators to report it to SAPS through the appropriate channels. SAPS has specifically appealed to residents, motorists, security personnel and community members with information to come forward.
THIS MUST STOP
The killing of women is not inevitable.
Gender-based violence is not simply a policing issue. It is a national crisis that requires law enforcement, government departments, communities, civil society, families, schools and every sector of society to work together.
Al Jama-ah will continue to call for stronger action to protect women and children and for communities to be placed at the centre of efforts to prevent violence.
South African women deserve to feel safe.
South African children deserve to grow up without fear.
Families deserve justice.
And those who prey upon the vulnerable must know that the full force of the law will be brought against them.
Al Jama-ah stands with the women and children of South Africa. Enough is enough.
The time for urgent action is now.
ENDS
THE AL JAMA-AH EFFECT: A Reimagined City for All
Issued by: Al Jama-ah
Media enquiries: Al Jama-ah Media and Communications Office
Sinazo Mtshengu
078 512 3186