Five women have been found murdered and their bodies dumped in Mamelodi East the past two weeks, leaving residents on the edge about their safety.
With the last murder, Mamelodi East police were alerted to a shooting by a passer-by around 02:30 on Monday. The shooting took place behind a Shell garage.
Police spokesperson, Warrant Officer, Michael Mbewe said: “On arrival at the scene, the police found the body of a woman with gun shot wounds. The woman was found half naked and believed to be between the age of 20 and 25 years old.”
Police were investigating.
On Tuesday morning, a recycler in Mamelodi East Phase 2, alerted police to the body of a young woman she had found at the local dumping site. She made the gruesome discovery at around 10:00 while scavenging for bottles to sell.
“Police at the scene found a young woman dead and naked,” said police spokesperson Warrant Officer Michael Mbewe.
In another murder, a 19-year-old schoolgirl was shot dead at her home last Wednesday – allegedly by her boyfriend. She had been shot several times and died on the scene. The Mamelodi East police confirmed the man had handed himself to the police.
Mbewe could not provide further details. He said police had no reason to connect the killings.
Police could not confirm allegations that two more women were murdered in Mamelodi over the weekend. However, chairperson of the Community Policing Forum in Mamelodi East, Eddie Mnguni, said one of the women had been strangled.
Victor Nyalungu, of the SA National Civics Organisation, said another woman was found murdered near to the mountain.
Police advised people to avoid walking alone in isolated areas, especially at night.
Mnguni said: “I am disappointed with what is happening in Mamelodi, especially about the dead women, so soon after we celebrated Women’s Month. Husbands and boyfriends must wake up early in the morning and walk their loved ones to bus stops and taxi ranks, and do so in groups.”
He said the residents had since established a neighbourhood watch and street committees to fight crime in the area.
“We are busy patrolling and need more people to join the CPF,” he said.
Nyalungu called on the Tshwane metro to install floodlights in the area to improve visibility at night as most of the bodies were found dumped in dark areas.
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