Three suspects have been arrested in South Africa in connection with the murder of a woman in an area east of Johannesburg, the latest of nine recent cases in that region that have highlighted the level of violence against women in the country. Under pressure to solve the series of murders which have involved victims’ bodies being dumped on the side of a road, police have described the arrests of the three – a man and two women – as a “breakthrough”. Referring to the nine cases, acting police chief Lieutenant General Puleng Dimpane said his officers were “working tirelessly to bring those responsible to justice”. All three suspects are due in court on Monday. His case relates to the death of Jabulile Ntimba, whose half-naked body was found wrapped in a sheet in Dawn Park last Thursday. Several of the recent victims were found partially clothed and with injuries, but police have stressed that they have not established whether all the deaths are linked or whether a serial killer is responsible. Addressing journalists on Monday, Deputy Police Chief Lt. Gen. Tebello. Mosikili said that “a team of analysts is working hard to see if there are links to all of these cases,” but Ntimba’s murder “seems to be an indication of a murder that arose from a relationship… this includes… a possible love triangle.” South Africa has one of the highest rates of gender-based violence in the world. It also has a very high homicide rate and, although official statistics do not identify the gender of the victims, a recent estimate by the country’s Human Rights Commission indicated that, on average, six women were murdered each day between April and June of this year. The recent grim discoveries have sparked a national outcry about the magnitude of the problem and increased many women’s sense of insecurity.
