Africa-Press – South-Africa. It has been yet another violent Women’s Month as four missing women, including a mother pregnant with triplets, have been found dead in KwaZulu-Natal.
Busisiwe Ngubo, 35, was allegedly murdered by her 46-year-old boyfriend, a policeman. Her body was found about a kilometre from her home in the Ehlanzeni area in Ixopo on Monday.
Ngubo was due to give birth to triplets last Tuesday, the day after her body was found. Her boyfriend has since been arrested.
Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) spokesperson, Robbie Raburabu, said that the officer may further face charges after a stash of dagga was found at his home.
Meanwhile, the bodies of two elderly women were found in a shallow grave near a crèche. They had been reported missing in Umgababa, south of Durban. two weeks ago.
According to MEC for Social Development, Nonhlanhla Khoza, the victims, Zanele Doris Mbuso and Monica Sophie Xulu, were both dedicated employees of Ethembeni Creche in Umgababa.
“Tragically, their bodies were found on Friday afternoon, a mere few metres away from their workplace,” Khoza said.
A security guard who worked at the creche with them has been arrested in connection with their murders.
In another unrelated incident, a 66-year-old traditional healer from Ndwedwe met a similarly harrowing fate. She was reported missing on August 17 while collecting water from a nearby river.
Her lifeless body was discovered the following day, showing signs she had been assaulted brutally.
The stats
The murders come as the South African Police Service released the crime statistics for April to June, which revealed that more women and children were murdered in this quarter, than during the same period last year.
According to the statistics, between April and June this year, 895 women were murdered, 40 more than the same quarter in 2022, while 293 children were murdered, 50 more than last year.
There were 1 417 attempts to murder women, 238 more than the previous year, and 354 for children, 47 more than the previous year.
Unite against women abuse
Khoza appealed to KwaZulu-Natal residents to unite against gender-based violence (GBV).
“These acts of violence against women underscore the alarming prevalence of GBV within our province. Such brutality challenges our fundamental values and sense of community. It is imperative that we unite to ensure that these abhorrent acts do not define us,” she said.
She called on communities to voice their concerns and collaborate closely with law enforcement agencies to ensure that those responsible are swiftly brought to justice.
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