The murder of Kempton Park runner Elizabeth ‘Tsontso’ Moselakgomo (38) has prompted a Thulamahashe woman to organise a walk and run against gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF).

Nomonde Pearl Nxumalo has invited people from all walks of life to join the event in Thulamahashe, in the Bushbuckridge Local Municipality, today (September 24) at 16:00.

The walk will start at the Total garage near Mhala Police Station and proceed to Orhovelani High School. Participants will then make their way back to the starting point.

A call for action

Nxumalo told Lowveld Media that while her motivation is personal, the walk is also inspired by the recent murders of women in Gauteng, particularly Moselakgomo.

“I’m very active in sports. I’m a runner, and I need to feel safe. As a woman who runs on the road, I should not have to fear for my life. What recently happened to Tsontso and the other women in Kempton Park has really touched me. It’s actually broken me,” said Nxumalo.

“Every day, I see women around me being brutally abused and murdered. I have seen so many painful things happening in our own community. Sisters, mothers, and neighbours suffering in silence,” she added.

She said awareness campaigns alone are not enough.

“Our brothers are not well educated about these things. For many of them, laying a hand on or killing a woman has become normal. They see it as a normal thing, as if it’s acceptable, while it is not acceptable at all,” she said sadly.

“Our event today must not be mistaken for just a march. It is a call for action. Stop abusing women, stop killing women and children, and stop telling women how to dress, how to act, or where to go. Teach our sons to respect women,” she said.

The event is sponsored by the ANC Youth League, Ivati Water, Mbileni Engineering and Mining, Confidence Class, Ninde (Pty) Ltd, and the ANC.

Moselakgomo was the first victim discovered in the recent spate of murders of women in the Kempton Park area of Gauteng.