In the wake of a series of brutal murders, women runners in South Africa are taking extra precautions to ensure their safety. Nancy Masha, a 39-year-old mother of two, now carries a knife and pepper spray on her daily jogs. This new ritual was born out of fear after the murder of Elizabeth Moselakgomo, a fellow runner who was found dead in Johannesburg's East Rand. Moselakgomo, 38, left home on September 9 for a run and never returned, leaving behind her eight-year-old daughter.
Moselakgomo's body was found three days after she went missing, in the same area around Kempton Park where eight other women were discovered dead since mid-July. The gruesome discoveries have prompted police to investigate whether a serial killer or killers are responsible. The murders have sent shock waves across South Africa, fuelling anxiety and anger. Masha, who had once taken part in a marathon with Moselakgomo, described her as "bubbly" and said her murder really traumatised her.
The discovery of the bodies has triggered vigils, protests and solidarity runs across South Africa, drawing hundreds of people from Kempton Park to Cape Town to honour the victims and demand action to protect women. Gender-based violence remains endemic in South Africa, despite years of government pledges to tackle the problem and its declaration last year as a national disaster. The government said its 24-hour Gender-Based Violence Command Centre received 6,782 distress calls between September 1 and 16, averaging 424 a day, a 21% increase from the same period in August.
The killings have heightened concerns among women already accustomed to taking precautions in their daily lives. Chulumanco Mahamba, 31, said since Moselakgomo's death she has cut back her daily walks to twice a week. She already carried pepper spray as a precaution, but now avoids secluded routes and shares her live location with loved ones before leaving home. Mahamba also sends photographs of what she is wearing to her loved ones.
However, not all women feel comfortable carrying a weapon. Hlompho Matji, 47, a data analyst and runner, said women are not trained to use pepper spray or knives, and carrying them could put them at greater risk. Babalwa Melitafa, 46, said she did not consider carrying weapons but preferred running only within a gated community's sports oval. "I would not run outside the oval alone because of what has happened. I am scared," she said.
Even in Cape Town, some 1,400 kilometres away, women said the killings had altered their routines. Filmmaker Andiswa Siwela, 43, a runner and mountain hiker, said the killings had left her more suspicious of strangers. Siwela said she had always carried her car keys to use as a weapon, but now also takes pepper spray, which she previously left in her car. "We want to be free. We want to do things without fear; we want to live," she said.
South African police have so far arrested three people in connection with the Kempton Park killings, but the arrests have done little to ease concerns. President Cyril Ramaphosa said the "pain and suffering that the women of South Africa have been put through stands out as a national shame". "The women of South Africa have the right to walk the streets of their country at any hour without fear," he said. Nkululeko Molosi, 47, captain of the Sunrise Athletics Club, said runners should not have to "choose between our passion for the sport and our personal safety".
Key points
- Women in South Africa are taking extra precautions to ensure their safety while running, including carrying pepper spray and knives.
- The murders have triggered vigils, protests and solidarity runs across South Africa, drawing hundreds of people to honour the victims and demand action to protect women.
- The South African government has declared gender-based violence a national disaster, but the killings have heightened concerns among women already accustomed to taking precautions in their daily lives.
