- 1 day ago
The murder of nine women reignites South Africa’s debate over women’s safety. Plus, outrage and political pressure grow in Cameroon as the number of women killed rises.
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00:05This is DW News Africa, and I am Tomi Oladiko.
00:09Coming up on the program, vulnerable, angry, and demanding protection.
00:18Why South African women say the government is failing to deal with gender-based violence
00:24and femicide despite labeling the issue a national disaster.
00:30Cameroon is facing its own battle to curb a rise in the number of women killed.
00:36We hear from the family of one victim still looking for answers.
00:51Nine women murdered.
00:54Their bodies left in open areas near Johannesburg, with most showing signs of sexual assault.
01:00Their deaths have put South Africa's femicide crisis back in the spotlight, renewing an urgent question.
01:06Why do women remain so unsafe?
01:09More than 23,000 people were murdered in the country last year, and 5,400 in this year's first quarter,
01:17according to official police statistics.
01:19That's around 60 murders a day.
01:22Now, while men account for the majority of those cases, women are far more likely to be killed by an
01:28intimate partner.
01:29The government has declared violence against women and girls a national disaster.
01:34But activists say that declaration has yet to bring meaningful change, as DW's Diane Hawker-Kaloubi reports.
01:47South African women using an apartheid struggle song to ask a simple question.
01:54What have we done?
01:58Days after the discovery of the body of a ninth woman, murdered and dumped in this open field.
02:05Most of the women had been sexually assaulted, police said.
02:11Arrests have been made in two cases so far.
02:14In Kempton Park, where the body of runner Elizabeth Tsonzo Masele-Homo was found,
02:20women and men gathered to remember those who died,
02:23and to demand that police do more to prevent and prosecute these crimes.
02:29A country cannot call itself free when its women are not safe.
02:36To our girls, your life matters, your dreams matters.
02:41To our government, we are done with speeches.
02:45We are done talking.
02:47And so should you be done talking and act and protect.
02:56Some say the fear of living, walking and running on South Africa's streets
03:01is already being passed on to the next generation of women.
03:05This is actually a trauma.
03:06It doesn't have to happen to my family, but the kids are watching.
03:09Like my daughter is just like, is there a way I can convince you not to go there?
03:13It broke my heart.
03:14The United Nations says the country needs a clear strategy
03:17to tackle femicide if it wants to change things.
03:21South Africa's femicide problem goes beyond these recent killings.
03:25Last year, the murder of women and children was declared a national disaster.
03:30But many of those participating in this march, as well as civil society,
03:35have questioned whether that declaration has had any meaningful impact.
03:41Among them is Corruption Watch Executive Director, Lebohang Ramofoko,
03:45who says recent revelations of deep-rooted corruption within the police
03:51show how corruption impacts citizens.
03:54Corruption is not a victimless crime.
03:57And we have seen women pay the price, amongst others, for corruption.
04:01Because how do we find bodies of nine women
04:04when we are having policing that is functioning in a society?
04:07What is the performance scorecard of the police
04:10when you are finding the bodies of nine women?
04:14South Africa has 187,000 police officers on the books.
04:19That's 8,000 fewer than in 2010, despite a growing population.
04:25The number of detectives investigating crimes has also gone down.
04:295,700 detective jobs are vacant.
04:46South Africa's government says it will prioritize solving these murders
04:51and dealing with femicide more broadly.
04:54But many South African women say the time for talk is over.
04:58They want to see swift arrests, safer streets,
05:01and clear action taken against perpetrators.
05:08Activist Sabrina Walter has been an instrumental figure
05:11in the fight against gender-based violence in South Africa.
05:14In 2025, the campaign group she led had a nationwide shutdown,
05:20which pressured the South African government
05:23into officially declaring gender-based violence
05:25and femicide a national disaster.
05:28Walter was later named among Time's 100 Most Influential People of 2026.
05:33And she joins me now.
05:35Good to have you with us, Sabrina.
05:37You've put out a strong statement holding South Africa's president,
05:42Cyril Ramaphosa, personally responsible for what's going on.
05:46Why so?
05:49Hi, thanks for having me.
05:51I think when we look at the femicide crisis in South Africa
05:55and the latest femicide statistics that we got from 2023,
06:00with 15 women being murdered every single day,
06:03we're clearly speaking about a human rights crisis.
06:07And our president said in 2021 already,
06:12caught femicide and gender-based violence,
06:14the second pandemic that was obviously just after the COVID pandemic.
06:19So we fought very, very hard last year with the shutdown
06:23and the petition that reached 1.1 million people
06:27that actually signed to get our president
06:30to classify gender-based violence and femicide in a national disaster.
06:34So it's clear that our ministers can't deal with a crisis
06:39because we haven't seen any implementation.
06:43We haven't even seen budget to that disaster after 10 months.
06:48So, yeah, I think we need to look at this person
06:52that is actually leading this country
06:53and asking why there is no political urgency.
06:59So I addressed President Ramaphosa.
07:02And even our petition last year was directly,
07:06yeah, towards it.
07:08So our memorandum was directed to President Ramaphosa as well.
07:12I suppose South Africa has strong laws.
07:15It's, as you mentioned,
07:16it's declared gender-based violence a national disaster.
07:18So why has that not changed the everyday reality?
07:25Yes.
07:26So South Africa doesn't lack on laws.
07:28We have absolutely probably the strongest
07:31or one of the strongest laws,
07:33even in domestic violence and gender-based violence.
07:35We have an entire national strategic plan
07:38of gender-based violence and femicide
07:41that was rolled out in 2020.
07:43We have not seen budget allocation.
07:45We haven't seen implementation.
07:47There was a council just announced literally two weeks ago
07:52and then after six years.
07:54So it doesn't lack on that.
07:57What is really lacking is the implementation.
08:00We don't see any implementation.
08:02So there's a lot of promises.
08:03But when it actually comes to the implementation,
08:06we don't see change.
08:07And then there's a lack in our justice system.
08:11So we have laws in place, for example,
08:14not giving out bail to perpetrators
08:17or people who murder women or children.
08:21And yet we see every single week,
08:24perpetrators, murderers,
08:26men who killed their wives,
08:29getting out on bail as low as 250 euro.
08:32So that is horrific.
08:33And that is the reality we see.
08:35Yeah, there have been several periods over the years
08:39when there have been cases of violence against women and girls
08:44and then there is outrage.
08:48How can there be progress where it's no longer a wave of outrage
08:54and then things die down?
08:55What would it mean or what would be needed
08:59to have meaningful, long-term, effective action
09:02beyond condemnation and promises of tougher enforcement?
09:08So, yes, we had many moments in the past 10 years
09:14where, you know, women, especially women, mobilized.
09:17We had the total shutdown in 2018
09:21that actually moved to a summit
09:22and the total shutdown was the reason
09:24why the NSP, the National Strategic Plan, was formed.
09:28We had a gruesome murder in Cape Town.
09:31A student was killed in a post office in 2019.
09:35Again, the country was protesting.
09:39We had our next movement.
09:41We had a shutdown last year.
09:43We had hundreds of thousands of people
09:45shutting down this country one day before the G20.
09:48And it is important because we constantly need
09:52to raise awareness about this.
09:54And we're so desensitized.
09:5615 women are murdered every single day.
09:58So when we see the outrage that is coming
10:00from South Africa in the past week,
10:03we notice Women for Change has a support line.
10:07We have femicide reports every single day.
10:11For us to see nine women are being found in Gauteng,
10:14it's nothing new.
10:15So the outrage is there.
10:16What can really change, and it goes back to the government,
10:20is reforming the justice system.
10:22We can't see endless delays.
10:24We need survivors that have actually access
10:27to the court system.
10:29We need support.
10:30We need funding for shelters, funding for counselling,
10:33funding for support lines.
10:35We need prevention.
10:36I mentioned we need education.
10:39We have to address the entitlement to women's bodies
10:43and the violence and harmful ideas.
10:46We need to educate those communities.
10:49And then government accountability.
10:50I guess that is one of the biggest.
10:53And what would be the signs for you
10:56that there is a change in the will to do something?
11:02A budget allocation.
11:04So the mid-term budget is being released on the 21st of October.
11:09It would be great to actually set something happening.
11:11That would be great.
11:13And then commutes to short-term.
11:14I want to see an implementation plan.
11:17And I want to see the short-term goals.
11:20I mean, civil society has handed over anything possible.
11:24All the solutions.
11:25We have all the solutions on how we can actually drastically
11:28reduce gender-based violence in the country.
11:32And we don't, again, implementation.
11:34We don't see an implementation plan.
11:36I haven't seen anything.
11:37I don't know how their short-term goals look.
11:40For me, I need to see less women being killed in South Africa.
11:44So that is what I want to see.
11:46And I want to see gender-based violence eradicate.
11:49And that's not in 30 years or 50 years.
11:51I want to see it in five years.
11:52I don't want to see women and children suffer anymore.
11:57Okay.
11:57Sabrina and Walter, thank you very much for speaking to DW.
12:02Thanks for having me.
12:09There's been a sharp rise in the killing of women in Cameroon.
12:13And it's triggered public outrage and pressure on the government to act.
12:17Many of the victims were allegedly killed by current or former partners.
12:21Official figures show Cameroon recorded 50 femicides in 2023 and 67 in 2024.
12:29That figure rose to around 77 last year.
12:33And in the first four months of this year alone, another 50 cases.
12:37And there have been more just reported since then.
12:40State media now say there were 73 femicides in the year to September.
12:45The government is expected to put a new bill before Parliament in November,
12:49aimed at protecting women and holding perpetrators to account.
12:53DW's Blaise Aeyong reports from Yaounde.
12:56A warning.
12:57The report contains details and images that some may find disturbing.
13:06This is how Jean-Pierre remembers his daughter, Chrysanne's.
13:09Whether she was singing with her father or supporting him and those close to her,
13:14a killing has ripped their heart out of their family.
13:20Through her small kitchen business, she earned a living for her father,
13:24most of her eight younger siblings, and some of their children.
13:29A month ago, the 44-year-old Ketra left her father at home
13:33after taking a call from someone who claimed to have a job for her.
13:37She never returned.
13:40Imagine for a moment saying goodbye to your daughter.
13:43She tells you she is going for business.
13:46She leaves, expecting to come back.
13:47She's even already prepared and set out the food she was going to eat.
13:51She left around 9.30 in the morning.
13:54Then, after 3.30 in the afternoon, the news you receive is that she was murdered.
14:04Chrysanne's big girl was brutally killed inside this hotel in Yaounde.
14:08In the room, her dead body was found in a pool of blood.
14:14Outside, a crowd seeking retribution physically beat the suspect.
14:19But Chrysanne's brother wants the man to be brought to justice.
14:24The man was later handed over to police.
14:27He remains in custody as investigations continue.
14:31I want the perpetrator of this crime to be punished.
14:35I want him to be punished.
14:37And I would tell him that he has taken someone very dear to us.
14:41He has deprived us of someone we love dearly.
14:44And for that, I will never forgive him.
14:47Only God can forgive him in my place.
14:50I cannot forgive him.
14:53Her family believes Chrysanne was deliberately lured into the hotel
14:56with the promise of work.
14:59They slit her throat.
15:01Why?
15:01Why would they go so far as slitting her throat?
15:05Chrysanne is one of many victims
15:07in a growing number of femicides in Cameroon.
15:11Their killings have become a national concern.
15:14The Cameroon We Want, a civil society group,
15:17has come to this neighbourhood in Douala
15:18to create awareness on femicide.
15:22They also want people to share potential solutions.
15:27Women, as well as men, are encouraged to share their thoughts.
15:32They're talking about the laws.
15:34Because in Cameroon, there is no specific law
15:36that addresses femicide.
15:38If a woman is killed in Cameroon for being a woman,
15:41it's treated as murder.
15:43And that's what some lawmakers here are hoping to change.
15:46And for meetings like this,
15:47they're hoping that people in the community
15:49can be aware of the dangers of femicide.
15:53But it remains an uncomfortable topic.
15:55Disagreements are growing over what should happen
15:57when relationships break down.
16:00This man asks what a man should do
16:02if a woman he has supported through school
16:04decides to leave him.
16:08Nothing justifies death.
16:10Nothing justifies violence.
16:12You cannot say that because a woman did this or that,
16:15the punishment should be death.
16:17Nothing justifies taking a woman's life.
16:24Concluding the event,
16:25the organiser activist Kawala
16:27explained why they decided to come here.
16:30A few weeks ago,
16:31Modesti Maff was killed,
16:33allegedly by her husband,
16:35in front of their young children.
16:36This is the site of one of the most horrific
16:42themicides that we have seen in Cameroon.
16:45So, Modesti Maff was locked in the house,
16:51killed by her husband,
16:53who was a butcher,
16:55and who literally butchered her,
16:59covered, cut her up into pieces.
17:02It was extremely shocking.
17:07News of reported femicide cases
17:10continue to dominate headlines in Cameroon.
17:13The government admits that a true number
17:15could be much higher.
17:18The Minister of Women says
17:20officials are taking steps to protect women.
17:24The First Lady has launched a campaign
17:26focusing on violence against women and femicide.
17:29The number of cases keeps growing.
17:32She says it's not enough simply to condemn these acts.
17:35Concrete action must be taken.
17:40But, activist Viviane Tatis says
17:42authorities have not done enough to stop femicide.
17:47Her organization tracks cases of violence against women.
17:50She blames a culture of impunity and gender stereotypes.
17:57Very often, violence against women is quickly justified,
18:00particularly through the idea that a woman must be submissive,
18:04that a woman should not walk outside alone,
18:06or that a girl should not be in a particular place
18:10at a particular time of the day.
18:13All these things contribute to the increasing number
18:15of femicide cases we are seeing.
18:21Jean-Pierre and his family are left holding on
18:24to the memories of his daughter.
18:29Maybe the rest of her brothers and sisters
18:31will have to come together and figure out
18:34how they can support me,
18:35how they organize themselves is up to them,
18:37so that I can somehow keep going.
18:39But, for me, I feel completely lost.
18:42I feel like I have nothing left.
18:45Her body, like those of other victims,
18:48remain in the custody of security forces
18:50as investigations into their deaths continue.
18:55As mentioned, many of these women
18:57are reportedly killed by current or former partners,
19:00and domestic violence is still often treated
19:02as a private family matter.
19:04I spoke to Dani Tiwa, a criminal justice researcher
19:08who is executive director
19:10at the Africa Centre for Crime and Security Studies.
19:13And I asked him why that is.
19:17Actually, we could say that there are two broad explanations.
19:23One has to do with culture and with patriarchal norms.
19:27You know, Cameroonian society,
19:29as many other African societies,
19:30remain very patriarchal.
19:32And you have issues, you know,
19:34with traditional gender roles,
19:35with stigma and honour, you know.
19:38Basically, family do not always want to be exposed
19:41for what is going on within or inside.
19:45And, of course, you also have the issue
19:47of social acceptance, you know,
19:48of some level of violence
19:50applied by men against women.
19:54And this, you know,
19:56linked to the reaction that you can often come across
20:00when it comes to the reaction
20:01of law enforcement agents,
20:02which might not take, you know,
20:04some complaint by women
20:07as seriously as they should.
20:10So that is one of the main reasons
20:13why this remains a domestic issue.
20:16Another aspect has to do with, you know,
20:18the weakness of our own institution,
20:21our criminal law institution.
20:25By that, I mean that, you know,
20:27the lack of capacity,
20:29as a result of lack of capacity,
20:31you know, many police stations
20:33will, you know,
20:34push aside some of those cases
20:36because they just don't have the means
20:38to thoroughly investigate them.
20:40And they will dedicate the scarce means
20:42that they have to, you know,
20:43some other affairs
20:45that there's broad consensus
20:47within the society
20:48that they should be investigated
20:49as compared to, you know,
20:51exhausting some political capital
20:52on matters that might later on
20:55be dropped by families themselves.
20:57We have heard of serious cases
21:00of domestic violence
21:01being reportedly handled
21:02through family mediation
21:04or traditional out-of-court settlements.
21:08What are the risks
21:10of taking that approach?
21:14Well, risk, there are many of them,
21:17but I would probably emphasize
21:20just one,
21:21which is the lack of,
21:25you know, capacities.
21:27And here I mean capacity
21:29in terms of, you know,
21:30intellectual capacity
21:31within communities sometimes
21:32to understand what might be
21:34the background
21:35of some of those violence.
21:37Families are doing their best.
21:39Communities are trying to help.
21:40And of course,
21:41they have the interests
21:41of the families in heart.
21:44But sometimes the triggers
21:47of violence, you know,
21:48might have some connection
21:50with the mental health
21:51of some of the perpetrators.
21:53And communities or families
21:55are not necessarily equipped,
21:56you know,
21:56to spot these kind of issues.
21:58What does that mean?
21:59It means that
22:01in spite of good intention,
22:03there might still be
22:04some instances of violence
22:05coming back
22:06because nobody within,
22:08you know,
22:09those kind of social organization
22:10is able to really pinpoint
22:12what is at the root
22:13of the problem
22:14and to provide
22:15and to come up with a solution
22:16that is adequate
22:17for that particular case.
22:18So handling these affairs
22:20privately has that particular risk,
22:22which is that you never really,
22:23you are never really able
22:24to fully, you know,
22:26prevent them
22:27because there's just
22:28lack of capacity
22:29to understand
22:29what is going on.
22:30Yeah, speaking of violence,
22:32you earlier mentioned
22:33that sometimes people
22:34also respond
22:35with mob violence
22:36against these
22:37suspected perpetrators.
22:39Does that signal
22:40a lack of faith
22:41from the public
22:43in Cameroon's
22:44justice system?
22:47There's clearly
22:48that dimension.
22:49There's clearly
22:49a dimension
22:50that has to do
22:51with the legitimacy
22:52of the criminal
22:54justice system
22:55and its effectiveness
22:56in the sense
22:57of being able
22:58to, you know,
23:00follow some of those cases
23:01until the end.
23:02By here,
23:03I mean the end
23:03that is satisfying
23:04to the public.
23:06But it also goes
23:07beyond the criminal
23:08justice system itself.
23:09you know,
23:10there's,
23:11and this is also
23:12connected to cases
23:13of femicide themselves.
23:14There's unfortunately
23:16a certain tolerance
23:18to violence
23:19in the Cameroonian society
23:20which might explain,
23:22you know,
23:22some of those reactions.
23:26Okay.
23:26In that case then,
23:28what would be
23:30a way forward?
23:32How can Cameroon
23:34solve this issue
23:35and have proper justice
23:37where its women
23:40feel protected
23:41by the law
23:42and by the system?
23:45That's actually
23:45a great question.
23:48And that has been
23:49in the mind
23:50of many people,
23:50I think,
23:51in the form of,
23:52you know,
23:53whether the law
23:53should be strengthened.
23:55To that question,
23:56I will answer that,
23:57I would provide
23:59a positive answer,
24:01but only if
24:02any legislative change
24:04will be focusing
24:05primarily on strengthening
24:07the prevention
24:08side of this issue.
24:11Why?
24:12Because we know
24:13that some victims
24:14have filed complaints,
24:17you know,
24:17formal police complaints
24:18regarding threats
24:19from their,
24:19from who will become
24:21their killers,
24:21you know,
24:22months or sometimes
24:23even years
24:23before the fatal incident.
24:25What this indicates
24:26is that
24:27there's still
24:29significant progress
24:30that can be made
24:30in improving
24:31early warning systems
24:32and equipping
24:33law enforcement,
24:34agents,
24:35and judicial authority
24:36with the tools
24:37to intervene
24:38decisively
24:39before it is
24:41too late.
24:42When it comes
24:43to retribution
24:44and deterrence,
24:45I believe that
24:46Cameroon's penal code
24:48already prescribes
24:49some stringent penalties,
24:51you know,
24:51for both aggravated
24:52assault
24:53and homicide.
24:54And the primary
24:55challenge here
24:56is essentially
24:57enforcing,
24:58not the enforcement,
25:00not the law itself.
25:02So,
25:03or rather ultimately,
25:05legislation alone,
25:07and that would be
25:08my final point
25:08on this,
25:09on this issue,
25:10cannot prevent,
25:11you know,
25:12crimes
25:13or instances
25:15that are rooted
25:16in,
25:16for example,
25:17impulsivity
25:18or cultural mindset.
25:19A lasting solution,
25:21in my opinion,
25:22will definitely
25:23require a
25:23comprehensive
25:25whole-of-society
25:26kind of effort
25:27to dismantle
25:28the underlying
25:29social causes
25:30of this violence.
25:32Okay.
25:33Danny Tiwa,
25:33thank you very much
25:34for giving us
25:35your thoughts.
25:37Thank you for having me.
25:40And thank you
25:41for being with us.
25:42We've got much more
25:43online at
25:44dw.com
25:45forward slash
25:45Africa
25:46or on our social media.
25:47We'll see you next time.
25:49Bye for now.
25:49.
25:50Bye.
25:51Bye.
25:58Bye.
26:08You