Mystery surrounds the deaths of two women who were found at Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain beaches on Saturday morning.
The two bodies, one of them half-naked, were discovered at Monwabisi Beach and in the area of the Wolfgat Nature Reserve.
“Harare police were busy with patrols in the vicinity of Monwabisi Beach on Saturday, December 16, when they found the body of an unknown woman next to the road,” police spokesperson, Warrant Officer Joseph Swartbooi, said.
“The circumstances surrounding this incident are now the subject of a police investigation. Harare police registered an inquest for further investigation.”
A post-mortem will be conducted to determine the woman’s cause of death.
About five kilometres down the road, officers made a second discovery.
“Harare Police responded to a complaint on Saturday, 16 December. Upon arrival near the corners of Lukanan Drive and Swartklip Road, Tafelsig, in the vicinity of Wolfgat Nature Reserve, they found the body of an unknown woman, half naked and dressed in a white and red T-shirt. The victim was declared deceased on the scene by medical personnel,” Swartbooi said.
The circumstances surrounding the woman’s death will be investigated by Mitchells Plain police, who registered an inquest for further investigation.
Western Cape Minister of Police Oversight and Community Safety, Reagen Allen, described the discoveries as deeply shocking.
“We have to get to a point where the murder of our women, children and any other person comes to an end.
“As a society, we need to check ourselves and ensure that these incidents do not occur,” Allen said.
The July to September 2023 crime statistics revealed that six more women were killed when compared to the same period for the previous year.
“This has to immediately be reversed,” he said.
byron.lukas@inl.co.za