South African actress Kwanele Mthethwa, known for her role in The Polygamist, has spoken out about the country’s ongoing femicide and gender-based violence crisis following the discovery of the body of a seventh woman in Gauteng.
The latest discovery has deepened fear and anger in communities, particularly as police continue investigating a series of cases involving women whose bodies were found in different parts of Ekurhuleni.
The developments have once again forced South Africans to confront a painful question: How safe are women in a country where cases of gender-based violence and femicide continue to make headlines?
Mthethwa’s Chilling Question
Reacting to the latest developments, Mthethwa raised a disturbing possibility: What if the cases are not all the work of one person?
Her concern goes beyond the search for a possible serial offender. She questioned what it would mean if different men were independently making the decision to harm and kill women.
That possibility shifts the conversation from identifying one potential perpetrator to confronting the broader culture and conditions that allow violence against women to persist.
At its heart, Mthethwa’s question challenges South Africans to consider whether the problem extends beyond individual criminals — and whether society is facing a much deeper crisis in which some men have come to view women’s lives as disposable.
From Individual Crimes to a National Crisis
Police have established a specialised task team to investigate the deaths and determine whether there are links between the cases.
Authorities have, however, cautioned that it is still too early to conclude that a single person is responsible for all the deaths.
That distinction is important.
While terms such as “serial killer” or “serial killers” have increasingly been used in public discussions, investigators still need to establish the facts, determine whether the cases are connected and identify those responsible where evidence supports criminal charges.
For Mthethwa, however, the national conversation cannot end with identifying individual perpetrators.
Why Are Women Still Afraid?
The latest developments have once again placed South Africa’s femicide crisis firmly in the spotlight.
Women continue to speak about the fear they experience while walking, exercising, travelling or simply going about their daily lives.
The disappearance and death of Elizabeth “Tsontso” Moselakgomo, who was reported missing after going for a run in Rhodesfield, has been particularly distressing for many people.
Her case, together with the other deaths currently under investigation, has intensified calls for stronger measures to protect women, improve investigations and ensure that those responsible are brought before the courts.
The Conversation Must Continue
Mthethwa’s comments have added another layer to an already painful national conversation.
The question is not only who is responsible?
It is also: Why does violence against women continue, and what must be done to stop it?
Her intervention challenges South Africans to look beyond individual cases and confront the attitudes, behaviours and social conditions that contribute to gender-based violence.
As investigators work to establish the circumstances surrounding the deaths, families are left mourning women whose lives have been tragically cut short.
For many South Africans, the hope is that the investigations will lead to arrests and convictions where the evidence supports them — but also to meaningful action against the wider crisis of violence against women.
The search for answers continues.
So does the urgent conversation about femicide, gender-based violence and the safety of women in South Africa.
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