South Africa: After a wave of murders, female runners are gearing up

Before putting on her running shoes, Nancy Masha checked the knife and pepper spray she carried to protect herself on her daily jog, a ritual born out of fear after the murder of another runner sent shockwaves across South Africa.

Activists, wearing masks to protect themselves against the coronavirus, demonstrate outside police headquarters in Cape Town, South Africa, on June 19, 2020.

Activists, wearing masks to protect themselves against the coronavirus, demonstrate outside police headquarters in Cape Town, South Africa, on June 19, 2020.

Before putting on her running shoes, Nancy Masha checked the knife and pepper spray she carried to protect herself on her daily jog, a ritual born out of fear after the murder of another runner sent shockwaves across South Africa.

Masha is among those taking extra precautions since nine women, including passionate runner Elizabeth Moselakgomo, were found murdered in Johannesburg's East Rand within two months — some of them partially naked and beaten.

"Our runner was brutally killed. I needed a way to protect myself because I am a woman and also a runner," Masha, 39, who usually runs alone, told AFP.

Moselakgomo, 38, left her home on September 9 to go for a run and never returned, leaving behind her eight-year-old daughter.

Her body was found three days later in the same area of Kempton Park where eight other bodies had been discovered since mid-July, prompting police to investigate whether one or more serial killers were responsible, and fueling anxiety and anger across the country.

Two days after the discovery of Moselakgomo's body, Masha began to carry pepper spray and a knife with her on her daily errands.

"His murder really traumatized me," said the mother of two. "We run in secluded places and at unusual times. But I won't stop running."

Masha recounted once participating in a marathon with Moselakgomo, whom she described as "full of energy".

National disaster

The discovery of the bodies sparked vigils, protests and solidarity runs across South Africa, bringing together hundreds of people from Kempton Park to Cape Town to pay tribute to the victims and demand measures to protect women.

Gender-based violence remains endemic in South Africa, despite years of government commitments to tackle the problem and its declaration last year as a "national catastrophe".

The government indicated that its 24-hour gender-based violence coordination center received 6,782 emergency calls between September 1 and 16, an average of 424 per day, representing a 21% increase compared to the same period in August.

These murders have exacerbated the concerns of women, who are already accustomed to taking precautions in their daily lives.

Chulumanco Mahamba, 31, said that since Moselakgomo's death, she had reduced her daily walks to twice a week.

The discovery on September 20 in the Soweto district of Johannesburg of the body of another woman — wrapped in a duvet — led her to question her habits.

Mahamba already carried pepper spray as a precaution. Now, she avoids isolated paths and shares her real-time location with her loved ones before leaving home.

She also sends photos of what she's wearing.

"It's unfair to have to change our habits, but I definitely feel safer when I have pepper spray on me," she said.

But not all women feel comfortable with the idea of carrying a weapon.

"We are not trained to use these kinds of objects," said Hlompho Matji, 47, a data analyst and runner.

"Carrying pepper spray also carries a risk, because someone could overpower you and use it against you. The same goes for a knife. We don't know how to use them."

Babalwa Melitafa, 46, said she did not plan to carry a weapon, but preferred to run only in the stadium of a gated community.

"I wouldn't run alone outside the stadium because of what happened. I'm scared," she told AFP.

"We want to live"

Even in Cape Town, some 1,400 kilometers away, women said that these murders had turned their lives upside down.

Filmmaker Andiswa Siwela, 43, a runner and mountain hiker, explained that these murders had made her more suspicious of strangers.

Ms. Siwela explained that she had always carried her car keys to use as a weapon, but that she now also carried pepper spray, which she previously left in her car.

"We want to be free. We want to do things without fear; we want to live," she said.

Nkululeko Molosi, 47, captain of Sunrise Athletics Club, said that runners should not have to "choose between our passion for sport and our personal safety."

South African police have so far arrested three people in connection with the Kempton Park murders, but have not specified whether there is a link between them.

A man is in custody for one of the murders and two women have been charged for another.

But these arrests have done little to allay concerns.

Speaking at a rally held on a public holiday on Thursday, President Cyril Ramaphosa said that "the pain and suffering endured by women in South Africa is a national disgrace."

"Women in South Africa have the right to walk the streets of their country at any time without fear."