JOHANNESBURG - Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi has vowed that authorities will fight back after the body of a ninth woman was discovered in Ekurhuleni on Thursday.
The 30-year-old woman was found half-naked and wrapped in a sheet on the side of the road in Dawn Park.
Investigators are working to establish her identity and the circumstances surrounding her death.
Her death follows the discovery of the bodies of eight other women across Ekurhuleni over the past two months.
“Someone has declared war against us and we will push back,” Lesufi said.
“I have full confidence in the team. South Africans must know, someone has declared war against us, we will push back. We’re not going to surrender. They have declared war and we have to return it. The state has the capacity.”
Lesufi said the multidisciplinary task team investigating the deaths was working around the clock and had already gathered evidence.
“The groundwork has been done. No one must have doubts that we’re picking up bodies and there is no work being done. The team is working around the clock, and they are briefing us hourly and indicating the evidence they have,” he said.
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The Premier said he was confident that investigators would solve the case soon.
“They have cracked many big cases before, and I have no doubt that they will break this case. But we must give them space to gather evidence. I have full, full confidence in them,” he said.
Meanwhile, Gauteng acting police commissioner Fred Kekana said police had received a large amount of information that could assist with the investigation.
“The teams are busy following up each and every piece of information provided,” Kekana said.
He also appealed to the public to stop sharing old pictures of bodies on social media, saying the practice was causing unnecessary panic.