Bukuta Nkuna
The Gauteng Department of Community Safety has expressed shock at the spate of gender-based violence perpetuated against women. This follows the arrest of a 28-year-old man by the police in connection with the brutal killing of his 41-year-old girlfriend in Valkfontein, South of Johannesburg on Sunday, 4 August 2019. It is alleged that the body of the woman was found buried in a shallow grave inside a shack after the suspect confessed to the murder. 
The brutal killing marks less than a year ago since the discovery of seven bodies that were buried under a pile of sand in a bedroom in the same area.
Visiting the crime scene on Monday afternoon, MEC Faith Mazibuko expressed shock at the ongoing rate of femicide within the province. 
"The rate of femicide is of grave concern to us as the Gauteng government. We encourage women to break the silence by reporting incidents of gender-based violence as they tend to escalate to femicide. We encourage the community to report people who are missing to the police as the suspect confessed that there are other bodies that he buried." said MEC Mazibuko.
She said that the department would conjure safety-haven in order to bridge the gap between law enforcement agencies and the community of Vlakfontein. 
"The Gauteng Department of Community Safety will deploy a Safety Kiosk in the Vlakfontein area. The kiosk is meant to bridge the distance between the community and the Lenasia South Police Station. Peace Officers who are authorised to perform citizen's arrest, and Patrollers who will patrol the area and respond to calls from the community, will be deployed to the kiosk. The community is encouraged to use the kiosk to follow-up on cases that they reported to the police and are still pending," Mazibuko added. 
The suspect is due to appear at the Protea Magistrate Court on Tuesday for a formal bail application. Picture courtesy​  of ​​enca
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