The United Progressive People Alliance (UPPA) is appalled and disgusted by what increasingly appears to be a catastrophic failure of policing, public safety, and state accountability in the face of the escalating Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF) crisis.

The discovery of multiple women’s bodies across Ekurhuleni over the past two months has sent shockwaves through communities already living under the daily threat of violence.

By 15 September, Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Police confirmed that six women’s bodies had reportedly been found across Ekurhuleni in approximately two months. SAPS has warned that it is investigating possible links between some of the cases, while appropriately cautioning that investigators have not yet established that all the deaths are connected.

Among the victims is 38-year-old Elizabeth “Tsontso” Moselakgomo, whose family identified her body after she disappeared while out on a run in Kempton Park. Her death has devastated a family and sent a chilling message to women across South Africa: even ordinary acts such as going for a run can become a matter of life and death.

This cannot simply become another news cycle. Women are dying, families are demanding answers, and government keeps responding with promises

Women cannot continue disappearing, being murdered and being found dead while the state responds with condolences, press conferences and promises that perpetrators will be brought to justice.

SAPS has said that a multidisciplinary team involving detectives, forensic specialists, tracking resources, K9 units and other specialised capabilities has been deployed. Acting National Commissioner Lieutenant-General Puleng Dimpane has vowed that police will leave no stone unturned.

UPPA welcomes every genuine investigative effort.

But promises are not protection. Statements are not justice. And condolences do not bring women back to their families.

The fundamental question is: how many women must die before the state treats GBVF as the emergency it claims it is?

South Africa declared GBVF a national disaster. Yet women continue to disappear and families continue to search for loved ones, while communities are left terrified and demanding answers.

The government has created structures, councils, programmes and strategies to combat GBVF. A National Shelter Indaba is currently taking place in Benoni from 15–17 September, with government and civil society discussing stronger coordination, prevention and risk reduction.

But while officials sit in conference rooms discussing interventions, women are dying on our streets.

UPPA therefore demands:

1. A full and transparent account of every investigation currently linked to the Ekurhuleni deaths.

2. Maximum investigative resources to be deployed immediately, including detectives, forensic specialists, intelligence, K9 units, CCTV analysis, and other available technologies.

3. Urgent safety audits of areas where women have disappeared or bodies have been discovered, with immediate intervention where security gaps are identified.

4. Greater police visibility in communities identified as high-risk, particularly around isolated roads, open spaces, transport routes and areas regularly used by women exercising or commuting.

5. Immediate communication with affected families. Families should not have to depend on media reports or social media to understand what is happening to their loved ones.

6. A public progress report from SAPS on the investigations, including what resources have been deployed, what evidence is being analysed, and what preventative measures are being implemented, without compromising operationally sensitive information.

7. A measurable GBVF accountability framework. The government must stop measuring success by the number of conferences held, speeches delivered or strategies adopted. The measure must be whether women are safer, perpetrators are identified and prosecuted, and survivors receive meaningful protection and support.

UPPA also calls on communities to cooperate with investigators. Parliament has urged members of the public to preserve and submit potentially relevant CCTV, dashcam and other footage to SAPS.

We must, however, be equally clear that ordinary citizens cannot be made responsible for public safety.

Women should not have to change their routines, stop running, avoid travelling alone, live in fear or constantly calculate whether a road, park or neighbourhood is safe enough to use.

It is not an acceptable standard for a constitutional democracy.

UPPA extends its deepest condolences to the families of every woman who has lost her life and especially to the family of Elizabeth Moselakgomo, whose tragic death has once again exposed the brutal reality facing women in South Africa.

Above all, we demand that the South African state protect the lives of women before it is forced to investigate their deaths.

GBVF cannot remain a national disaster in name while becoming a national emergency only after another body is found.

In our electoral offer, we are pledging to prioritise public infrastructure such as community parks and gyms where people can train and exercise safely, improve public lighting as well as ensuring that vegetation and grass are trimmed especially in isolated areas, and improved Metro Police visibility with at least 10 officers per ward.

Issued by: United Progressive People Alliance (UPPA)Media & Communications

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Abel Tau

Mayoral Candidate and Campaign Spokesperson 0712655040