Police in Cape Town have arrested a 28-year-old man following the discovery of two bodies, in Belhar, believed to be those of a woman and her child.

A spokesperson for the Police in Cape Town, Sergeant Noloyiso Rwexana, says the victims are aged 27 and 7.

“Belhar detectives are investigating a case of a double murder following the discovery of two bodies yesterday (Friday). The bodies of the victims aged 27 and seven, who are believed to be mother and daughter, were discovered at about 16:00 in Commerce Street, Belhar. According to information at the disposal, police attended to the scene and found the victims in the house. The 27-year-old female had several stab wounds in her body while the child was found on the bathroom floor. A 28-year-old man was subsequently arrested and is expected to appear in the Bellville Magistrate’s Court on charges of murder on Monday, 15 June 2020.”

In the video below, advocacy manager from Women and Men against child abuse, Ngaa Murombedzi, talks about fighting the scourge of gender-based violence under the lockdown:

Ramaphosa condemns murder of women and children

President Cyril Ramaphosa on Saturday has called on all South Africans to end the culture of silence around gender-based violence and report perpetrators to the South African Police Service (SAPS). This after the body of a young woman was found dumped under a tree in Dobsonville, Soweto, on Friday.

“It is a dark and shameful week for us as a nation. Criminals have descended to even greater depths of cruelty and callousness. It simply cannot continue. We note with disgust that at a time when the country is facing the gravest of threats from the pandemic, violent men are taking advantage of the eased restrictions on movement to attack women and children. The manner in which these defenseless women were killed points to an unconscionable level of barbarism and lack of humanity,” President Ramaphosa said.

Since the country entered lockdown Level 3, there has been a surge in gender-based violence and femicide.

“As we still struggle to come to terms with the brutality inflicted on Tshegofatso Pule, Naledi Phangindawo, Nompumelelo Tshaka and other women in the Eastern Cape and Kwa-Zulu Natal, whose bodies were found dumped this week, another woman has lost her life,” Ramaphosa added.

In the video below, Tshegofatso Pule is laid to rest: